Blondie and the Hybrid
by youaretrulybrilliant
Summary: Series of drabbles/one-shots about Klaus and Caroline. Canon, non-canon and all different ratings...because sometimes the day isn't complete unless you've had a little bit of Klaroline.
1. Beneath the Stars

**My neighbor's baby died from SIDS this morning and this is me coping. Don't own the characters.**

"Now this is a sight I didn't except to see," came a smirking voice that Caroline instantly recognized. Caroline opened her eyes to see the infernal hybrid standing above her. She snapped her head; to hide her tears not sure the cover of night would disguise them.

"Go away Klaus, I'm not in the mood," she spit out. She wanted it to sound harsh, but her voice broke betraying her emotions.

It wasn't unnoticed by Klaus. He lay down on the damp grass next her, a concerned look on his face. He had been out hunting when he caught a whiff of his favorite baby vampire and followed it. It surprised him to find her lying out on the grass looking up at the stars.

"What's wrong, love?"

She was too sad to chastise him for the pet name. Her face was still turned away from him, furiously trying to erase the evidence of her breakdown. Regaining her composure she turned back to him, his face and body no more than a foot away. His perfect face said nothing but concern for her and before Caroline could stop herself she confessed everything.

"I was out with my mom today for once and as we left the Grill we saw a car accident…" Caroline stopped, tears building back up, sputtering she continued, "I watch a little boy get ejected and thrown fifty yards…..he….he…"

She couldn't even continue because the words caught in her throat were making horrible gagging sounds. She felt herself being pulled into him and crushed into a tight embrace. Caroline found she wanted nothing more than to stay there, feeling surprisingly comforted and safe. She cried until her eyes ran dry, Klaus saying nothing. Feeling embarrassed suddenly at crying into the shoulder of the devil incarnate she attempted to push away but he wouldn't let her.

Huffing after some effort she gave up and sat lay there, not wanting to admit she enjoyed him. Klaus ignored her and tucked her further into him and pointed up to the night sky.

"Look there is the constellation Lyra. It was named after the harp of the Greek god Hermes."

Caroline followed the direction of his fingers to see the seven stars he was referring too, "What did you worship him or something?" She couldn't resist the jab but sobered at his frown.

"Despite what you think I'm not that old."

He his frown turned into intense heated gaze, boring into Caroline. She fidgeted slightly under his gaze not sure what emotion he was displaying.

"I point it out because even the stars because as beautiful as they are, have an end. All life does, even the little boy you saw today. Human life is brief and fleeting, a constant rush to experience everything. You are a vampire and have eons to explore the world around you and live to the fullest extent. Be happy that you never have to experience the pain the boy's family must."

Caroline sighed, only Klaus could turn death into a good thing about vampirism. Though as weird as it was she found herself happier and warmer from his words. Snuggling against his chest she asked, "Do you know anymore stars?"

She didn't catch the smile on Klaus' face as he pointed out the next constellation.


	2. To save you, I could do anything

**Just watched Angels Take Manhattan again and Rory Williams inspired me. Don't own the characters. Enjoy.**

It was the party to kick off London fashion week. Caroline had been working on it for months to ensure everything was flawless; it was the biggest job of her life. Caroline was proud of herself, nothing had gone wrong and she had received compliments the entire night at the stunning venue and perfect menu. Snapping open her clutch to check her phone, she sighed seeing nothing and downed her shot of vodka.

A tickling feeling on the back of her neck made her turn around to see the sexist guy she had ever met in her life. His hair was a sandy color and curly, just long to let the curls really show. Strong blue eyes were raking her over, a firm jaw covered in fine blonde stubble and full lips that made her insides start to heat up. She noticed through the undone buttons of his dark red shirt an array of necklaces, the look oozing sex appeal. Caroline clutched the table to support herself. She prayed the man wasn't human or she would need to leave now before she drained him.

The man was giving her a smirking look, "Well love, I certainly didn't think you would be at the helm of this ship but by now I should know better."

Caroline gave him a confused scowl, "Is that supposed to some pick up line? If it is you need to work on your game."

The man said nothing but just stepped further, invading her personal space. He held out his hand to which Caroline cautiously put hers in. He lifted her hand to his lips and left a searing kiss on her knuckles. Eyes never leaving hers Caroline felt her breathing stop as he said, "Klaus Mikaelson. I was told you were responsible for tonight's festivities. I had to come see for myself the stunning woman who managed to wow the better half of London."

Before she could respond to him, he turned around and left. Feeling light-headed, Caroline leaned back against the table trying to catch her breath. She had just almost lost it and all the man did was kiss her knuckles. It was the accent she told herself, that had to be it. Closing her eyes she breathed in deeply to steady herself but only managed to find his lingering scent. It was then that she realized she had never heard a pulse on the man, he wasn't human. She groaned realizing she had just found the hottest vampire and lost him.

A few weeks later she swore she smelled his scent again. She was busy trying to escape the madness of the Underground when a whiff of the smell went by her. Then a month later she smelled it again while shopping in West End. The smell kept popping up everywhere, and it was driving her crazy.

Caroline attempted to ask her boss if she knew about the man but she couldn't answer any questions. She was almost to the point where she wanted to call Stefan. He would know who Klaus was because surely he had run across the name is his life. But each time she tried to call, something stopped her.

Caroline couldn't explain it but she felt if she called her friends back in Mystic Falls they would just be upset with her. Frustrated that she couldn't find him again and that every thought of him increased her sexual frustration she decided to purge her apartment. For six hours straight she had done nothing but scrub until things were gleaming.

Making it to her room, she tackled the underneath side of her bed. Reaching under to sweep for dust bunnies, her hand came across a small wooden box. Caroline frowned and pulled out the box. She didn't remember putting a box there. It appeared old and expensive, with intricate carvings along the side and her initials carved on the top. Where had she gotten this from?

Brushing the dust off, she opened it to find it filled with papers. Delicately picking them up she noticed most were drawings of her. There was a beaded necklace that smelled faintly like Klaus but she shook her head denying the correlation. She didn't know what to make of all of it; she had no memory of the box or its contents. Shrugging her shoulders she put the box back under her bed. The drawings wherever they came from were too beautiful to throw away.

Walking back into the little kitchen, she made herself a cup of coffee feeling suddenly depressed. Sitting down on the sofa she brought the mug to her lips. Looking over the brim she noticed something odd out her window. It was Klaus standing across the street and with what Caroline swore was sadness in his eyes. She threw up her arms in shock, sending scalding coffee everywhere. Cursing, she glanced back up to see he was gone.

Flashing outside to the spot he had been in, she frantically searched for his scent to find him. But all she could smell was the pungent odor of her neighbor's dog business on the lawn. Pouting at her failure she headed back to the house. On the front step sat a rolled piece of parchment just like the drawings from her box.

She scooped up the paper and headed back inside. Hissing at the movement Caroline remembered the hot coffee that had burnt her flesh. Stripping herself of the shirt, her skin began to finally knit back together. Picking the paper back up, she sat down on her bed and opened it.

It only had seven words on it and they made no sense to her whatsoever. Caroline kept repeating the words over and over to herself, trying to understand the message someone had left for her.

"Do you understand what they mean?"

Caroline squeaked and looked up, to see Klaus standing in her bedroom. She just stared at him for a moment processing his words. He was staring at her with a heated look taking in her undressed appearance. Caroline suddenly remembered she had no shirt on and frantically attempted to cover herself.

Klaus smirked at her actions. Walking over to her closet, he reached in and pulled out a shirt. Caroline accepted the shirt wordlessly and motioned with her finger for him to turn around. But Klaus just stood there and hands behind his back, ignoring her request. Caroline huffed and quickly put the shirt on.

Picking up the paper, she handed it to him, "Did you leave this?"

The smug smile was gone from his face, "Do these words mean anything to you?"

Caroline shook her head, "No."

"Then why are you crying love?"

Startled, Caroline brushed her hand across her cheeks and came away with tears. She frowned, when had she started crying?

Klaus' face blanked to which Caroline found oddly familiar, "I should have never sought you out at the party; you aren't ready yet."

He left the room and was almost to the front door when Caroline stopped him. She smacked his arm away from the door.

"I know you don't I?" she asked.

He said nothing, just stared at the doorknob.

Caroline cleared her throat, "I was compelled to forget you?"

Again nothing, his face just tightened and body stiffened.

She gave him a frown, "I hate being compelled."

"I know," it was a whisper, the slightest movements of his lips. She was surprised she even heard it.

He easily broke from her grip and opened the door. Caroline stopped him one more time, grabbing the back of his jacket. Klaus just shrugged her off, displaying a great deal more strength than her. Caroline let him go and watched him until he walked out of sight.

Leaning against the back of the closed door, the wave of grief from earlier came back and she proceeded to sob uncontrollably. There was no explanation for it, she just couldn't stop. She didn't know if it was the way he had looked at her or knowing something had been compelled from her but either way she couldn't stop.

_To save you, I could do anything. _

The seven words stared up at her from the slip of paper, taunting her.

What the hell had she needed saving from?


	3. Yes

**The missing scene from the library from 4x10**

"Welcome to the last 900 years of my life." Rebekah said back to Stefan glaring at him.

Standing back up and walking around the table, Rebekah eyed them with all such venom. The original zoned her sights on Caroline.

"Well now, we can't let Stefan and Elena have all the fun can we Caroline," she sneered.

Caroline balked, "Seriously can you just stop already with the questions? Haven't we answered everything?"

Rebekah narrowed her eyes, examining Caroline intently cocking her head, "I still don't see what it is that my cowardly brother sees in you. Tell me did you trample all over Nik's heart yet?"

Caroline froze; this wasn't going in the direction she wanted. "There would have to be something going on for that to happen," she spat out.

"Don't be such a coward Caroline, tell the truth now. How are things with going on with you two?"

Caroline wanted to smack the haughty look right off the blonde. She tried fighting the compulsion but the overdriving control won.

"I don't know."

Elena gave Caroline a dirty look and Rebekah just laughed, "Little sisters see everything. Admit it somewhere in that pathetic little heart of yours you can't stand a world without him."

Caroline flitted between Stefan and Elena trying to ignore the looks both of them were giving her. Rebekah was just looking at her with the most triumphant smirk on her face. Caroline dug her nails into hands to stop herself from answering, she was not going to give into Rebekah.

"I'm waiting." Rebekah waved her hand through the air.

But Caroline was spared from answering because Tyler burst through the door. Rebekah gave Caroline a knowing look and turned to Tyler.

"Ah good you're here." She said to Tyler.

As Rebekah walked over to Tyler and gave him the order to turn, Caroline couldn't deny that if she answered, she would say yes some part of her couldn't think of a world without Klaus.


	4. To save you, I could do anything part II

**Here is the second half of the drabble-Caroline remembers. Enjoy!**

Caroline jerked from her sleep, panting heavily. She quickly scrambled out of bed and frantically began writing down the series of images from her mind. Pushing sweaty curls from her face, Caroline set down the pencil and looked at what she wrote. She sighed in frustration, nothing made sense still. She couldn't fill in the gap in her memory and figure who Klaus was. She sat there staring at the clippings of paper she had tacked to her wall; if a stranger had walked in they would have thought she was some crazed conspiracy buff.

For months now vivid dreams plagued her sleep, all because of those seven words on a slip of paper Klaus left for her. Some dreams were good images of her and a man in bed together, traveling, a giant wolf protecting her from an unknown assailant and other dreams were bad like tonight's-scenes of her being under intense torture, blood covering everything, Klaus screaming her name. None of it made sense anymore and it was slowly driving Caroline insane.

Flinging the pencil in anger it bounced off the wall and lodged itself under her bed. Too tired and cranky she simply picked up the bed grateful her blinds were closed and no one could see her display of strength. She spied the pencil right next to the carved box with her initials. She hadn't looked at it since Klaus had left her the note. Picking up the box and setting it down on the bed, she snuggled back under the covers. The drawings would help her mind relax and go to sleep.

She studied each one, never noticing the time passing. Caroline was completely mesmerized, running long fingers over the charcoal lines. Pictures of her dancing in her underwear made her laugh or the ones with her wearing nothing at all gave her cheeks a nice rosy color. There were so many of them, but her favorite was one of her sleeping in a man's arms whose face was shadowed by her hair. She looked peaceful and content; whoever the man was she was happy with him.

_"He's not bluffing!" Caroline screamed at Klaus. _

_Klaus was chained to a chair with vervain ropes, the white oak stake locked precariously above his heart. Every movement drove the stake closer, slicing the surface of his skin in tortuous slivers._

_"I won't lose you," he let out through clenched teeth._

_Caroline was crying, her makeup smeared all over her face. Her body was too weak and she could hardly stand. "I'm not worth it," she choked out. _

_Tortured for two weeks and then used as bait to lure him in for a rescue she had just been given the price of his freedom. Either Klaus give her up or she watched him die. _

_Klaus struggled against his restraints, eyes livid. "Don't you ever think that." _

_"It's not your choice to make," Caroline whispered knowing he heard her._

Caroline gasped, scattering the drawings. She placed a hand over her dead heart and realized she was crying. It had been a dream; she must have fallen asleep from exhaustion. Replaying it in her head, it finally dawned on her. The nights of dreams weren't dreams at all but memories; memories of her life with Klaus.

"Klaus," she moaned placing a hand over her mouth.

She had to find him. With a blur of speed she ran out of the house not bothering to find clothes or shoes. Dawn was approaching and the streets were filling with early morning commuters but she paid them no attention. Running through different neighborhoods she slowed down in Notting Hill, honing her senses. Suddenly Caroline found herself in front of a trendy home, the place covered in Klaus' scent.

Nerves gripped her, she was wearing nothing but a revealing nightgown but she didn't care. Taking a deep breath she slipped quietly inside listening for Klaus. She could hear the steady rise and fall of his chest from a room upstairs. Before she could take a step towards the staircase, her face was up against the front door and trapped by someone much stronger than her.

Klaus was growling in her ear, tightly gripping her wrist and shoving her arm painfully high up her back. The minute the throbbing started it stopped and Caroline found herself free. Slowly turning around Caroline saw Klaus three feet away with a rapidly disappearing wild expression. He retracted his fangs and stared at her in disbelief.

"Caroline?" he whispered as if trying to believe she was really there.

Caroline bobbed her head, biting her bottom lip. Again Caroline was pinned but this time it was his lips attacking hers. She whimpered at the contact, his lips skillfully undoing her. Caroline fell against the door. The only thing holding her up was Klaus pressing against the curves of her body. Panting heavily Klaus broke from her lips, leaning back just far enough that he could clearly see into her eyes.

"Caroline," he murmured as if her name was the desperate prayer of a dying man.

She didn't know if she wanted to cry or laugh so instead she kissed him again. All the dreams of kissing him since that night at fashion week were nothing compared to the real thing. His tongue in her mouth made her heady and deliciously dizzy, her only line of thinking to push for more of him. Before she completely lost it she wrenched herself away from him, earning a growl in protest. Klaus settled for nibbling down her throat, sending waves of heat crashing through Caroline. She moaned in pleasure at the sensation but grabbed his head so his eyes were level with hers.

"Don't ever let me do that again, it's been twelve years," she demanded.

Klaus slammed his hips against hers, grinding perfectly against her and eliciting a squeak from her. "You won't love."

He picking her up and Caroline clinging to his neck and he flashed them both upstairs. As he threw her on the bed Caroline saw the same seven words written on a paper on the nightstand. She smiled warmly, they had been her words not his.

_Caroline was frantically searching for her purse that was in the corner of the dank prison. Dumping the contents on the floor she spied her compact mirror and snatched it up. Klaus eyed her movements from his position to see her grab the mirror and open it, holding it eye level with her eyes. His furious look dropped in realization of what she was about to do. _

_"Caroline no! You cannot compel yourself. You could erase your entire life on accident." _

_He was jerking through the vervain ropes, skin falling away, blood running down his arms and almost freeing himself but the stake stopped him. It pierced deeper just centimeters from his heart; any other movement would instantly kill him._

_Caroline turned to him, letting a single tear run down her filthy cheek. "To save you, I could do anything." _


	5. He was the Only One

**Post 4x10 Kol uses Caroline to stop Klaus from searching for the cure. **

Caroline was walking out of the Grill with Elena and Bonnie when Kol materialized in front of them. The three of them jumped back in fright as Kol stalked towards them with a devilish grin.

"Hello darlings, enjoying your evening?"

"Run!" screamed Elena. They scattered, all going different directions. Caroline blurred away as fast as she could and almost made home when she felt a tug on her coat collar and flew through the air. She landed flat on her back on someone's lawn, gasping for breath. Kol loomed above her with a wicked grin.

He yanked her from the ground, forcing her to stand on her feet. Caroline was wobbling; clenching her ribs realizing one was broken. Kol grabbed her by the face and stared into her eyes. Caroline tried to stop him but he was too strong.

Kol's eyes dilated, compulsion taking reign over Caroline's mind. "You are going to run north, until you can run no further. You are not allowed to feed and you are to speak to no one."

Caroline felt her insides die at Kol's command. The onslaught of tears down her cheeks couldn't be stopped. He was sentencing her to death and no one would know what happened to her. She tried to fight her feet from moving forward, her body trembling as the urge to run grew. Kol shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry darling but I can't let Silas rise. He'll kill us all. If your death won't get my brother to stop then I'll have to kill him."

Caroline knew that her face frozen in horror, Klaus wouldn't come looking for her not after her part in losing his hybrids. The fight to keep her body in one place was lost and she felt herself being launched forward, blurring out of the town.

It was torture, four days later and Caroline felt like she was going to die. The burning in her throat constantly stung her, her fangs elongated all the time because she was so thirsty. Her tears had dried up after day two and most of her thoughts now were only of blood. Her clothes were tattered and torn from falling in dizzy spells against rocks and trees. She had no idea where she was but figured she had to be in Canada somewhere. It didn't matter though there weren't people around for miles and snow was beginning to fall.

Flames of agony danced across her body, and Caroline collapsed against the mud bank of the stream she just crossed. She was too delirious and weak to move anymore. In her delirium she began to drift over her memories of her beloved Mystic Falls and all her friends and one original hybrid. For the first time in two days she began to cry, the salty liquid searing her eyes.

A moment of clarity sobered Caroline. Kol had never said that she couldn't take off her ring. Caroline looked down at her daylight ring, she could just end all the torture. The pain wouldn't even be that bad not after what she felt for the past four days. No one had come to get her, which meant that Kol had probably gotten to Elena and Bonnie too. They were always picked before Caroline, she was never the one.

Shaking Caroline attempted to take off the ring, but could not find the energy to move any further. Sinking into the mud, her eyes fluttered before finally closing. But the fight wasn't gone in her, her mind was still fighting tooth and nail to move, she just couldn't open her eyes any longer.

When a gust of wind rolled her over and warm blood was shoved down her throat, Caroline thought she had died. The euphoric liquid kept rushing down her throat breathing life back into her mummified body. Slowly Caroline felt she could open the iron bars of her eyelids. Cracking them open she recognized the very hybrid she had thought about for the past four days.

It was Klaus with a look of dare she say it, fear. Meeting her eyes, the fear disappeared and was replaced with steely determination. He was shoving blood bags down her throat as fast she could drink them. Caroline didn't care what had happened to Kol or why it hadn't taken Klaus so long to get her. All that mattered was of all the people who said they cared for her; he was the only one who came.


	6. Rule Two

**Klaus teaches Caroline to fight**

"Stop flinching at the last second." Klaus lectured her, picking Caroline up off the ground for what she was sure was the hundredth time that day. Caroline groaned wiping the dirt off her butt. Maybe having Klaus teach her to fight wasn't such a good idea after all; Stefan would have been the better choice. At least with Stefan she wouldn't constantly be distracted by his close proximity.

"I'm not flinching," she retorted.

Caroline stood there again slightly hunched in a defensive crouch making her heart guarded by her shoulders, with her feet apart just like Klaus taught her. They had been going at this for almost two weeks now and if her body healed at a human rate her bruises would have had bruises. Klaus was not letting her get off easy, and each day she came home beat up but feeling strangely proud.

Klaus gave a dark chuckle followed by a seductive smile, he was using every ounce of his charm to throw her off balance and so far it had been working and they both knew it.

"Let's try a different tactic. Close your eyes," he instructed.

Caroline huffed, rolling her eyes, "Seriously, I can hardly block your attack with my eyes open and now you want to close them. I'll be knocked out even faster and though you get a twisted delight in seeing me flat on my back I don't. So, no thank you."

"Just indulge me." Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose, slightly annoyed with her.

Caroline glowered at him for a moment more before spitting out "Fine."

Closing her eyes, she stood still in her defensive position, tense with nerves. Klaus smiled brightly as he got to admire her for a minute without her looking. The tight black yoga pants and tank top hugged her perfectly, leaving little to the imagination and Klaus had a very good imagination.

"You're staring, quit it and attack already," she hissed.

Klaus smirked at the baby vampire not letting the jab bother him. "Focus on my voice Caroline; you need loosen up just a bit. The tension you are creating is what keeps knocking you down, you're too rigid, love."

"Don't call me love."

He watched her body hesitate for a minute as she was fighting some inner battle but her posture finally melted. "Good girl. Now use your senses, I want you to feel me."

Caroline furrowed her eyebrows, she didn't know if he meant innuendo or if all the closeness had finally gotten to her head but she relented honing her hearing. She could hear everything around them, the wind gently dancing through the grass, unseen bugs buzzing on the ground beneath and the sound of heartbeats off in the distance. She couldn't hear him but she could smell him, the overpowering musky smell that had made her lightheaded since the moment he saved her from werewolf venom.

In an instant his smell began to move and Caroline heard the displacement of his body through the air. Trusting her instinct and the muscle memory she had gained over the past two weeks she waited until the he was inches from her and launched out to grab him. She clamped onto his arm, twirled into him, jabbing him hard into the gut causing him to flinch back. It gave her enough time to flip him onto his back and land on top of him in a fluid of insanely fast motions.

Caroline opened her eyes to see Klaus panting below her, with a wide satisfied grin on his face. "Well isn't this a pleasant surprise."

She was too caught in her triumph to understand what Klaus meant and clapped her hands wildly, wiggling her body, "I did it!"

A low growl escaped Klaus, her wiggling grinded right into him, her hips above his. Caroline dropped her hands at the sound and flushed red finally realizing her position. She went to scramble off but found herself the one to be pinned underneath.

Caroline was very aware of the way his body lay flush against hers, and the reaction her body was having in return. Klaus gave her another cocky grin, leaning in dangerously close to her lips and held himself there. Yes, he wanted to lean in and capture hers but this dance they were doing with their bodies as he taught her to fight was too intoxicating. If he kissed her now, Caroline would run off. Klaus was determined to make her come to him, therefore tempting her was all he could do for now.

Holding his lips just above hers he titled his head away from them and his stubble ghosting over her cheek, receiving a shiver from her as a reward. Placing his hot mouth just by her ear he leaned in, rolling his body against hers. "Rule two; never count your victory too early. You failed to secure my hands, you were dead the minute I pinned you."

Caroline just nodded wordlessly too buzzed to say anything. Klaus rolled off her, standing up he held out a hand to her. Caroline caught the flicker of desire still burning in his eyes and it did nothing to quell the fire that he had just ignited in her. Grabbing his hand, he pulled her up into him.

Klaus' smile dropped turning back into the indifferent instructor, "Now let's try this again and see what you can do when I actually use vampire speed."

Letting her go, he backed up a few paces and Caroline groaned in frustration-it was going to be a long day.


	7. Rule One

**Caroline asks Klaus to teach her to fight. Not really flirty or anything like that-more friendship than anything else.**

Caroline breathed in deeply before knocking on the large door in front of her. She still couldn't believe that she was here. A few rustling sounds came from inside and then the sounds of Klaus' footsteps approached. Opening the door a surprised grin shot across his face before settling into a knowing smirk.

"To what do I owe this pleasure sweetheart?" he asked gesturing her inside.

Klaus ushered the baby vampire into the front parlor, it was the first time Caroline had ever come to his home. He couldn't deny to triumphant feeling that he finally got her to come to him. They hadn't talked at all since the death of the mayor and too see her now not upset at him thrilled him.

Caroline stood still for a minute, looking around the grandeur of the room. Clearing her throat she squared off and held her chin high. "I want you to teach me how to fight," she demanded.

Klaus stopped mid-step and pivoted more towards her. Placing his hands behind his back he stalked towards her, "Why can't you get your traitorous boyfriend to do that for you?"

He just wanted to push her are the moment, to say the truth. She had come to him, not to Tyler, or the Salvatores. Now he wanted those words to come from her pretty lips. Caroline immediately sensed what he was playing at and pursed her lips.

Her fiery gaze bore into Klaus' unreadable face, trying to intimidate him. Seeing that her gaze had no affect other than to make his smirk grow wider, Caroline slumped her shoulders in defeat. "Tyler is off in the Appalachians again, he isn't even here," she confessed.

Klaus felt another count of triumph; the mutt wasn't even there to protect her. "Ah I see, run off like a coward."

Caroline recovered from her moment of weakness, furious he knew more than she wanted him too. He constantly did that, made her feel like she could trust him and then he would say something that reminded her of what an arrogant, evil guy he was.

"Forget about it, this was a stupid idea." Caroline spat out and headed towards the door.

She had her hand out reaching for the door knob when Klaus snatched it back and flipped Caroline onto the ground. Caroline groaned with the contact of the hard surface.

Annoyed and frustrated she glared at him, "What the hell Klaus!"

She picked herself up off the ground, wanting to smack the stupid look off his face. Caroline didn't care if he could tear her apart that was completely uncalled for. The smug smile was gone; instead Klaus had turned into the stony look he always carried.

He shrugged, "Rule one-never let your guard down. You let your guard down for even a second and you die."

Caroline gave him an incredulous look. "Seriously! What are you going to attack me in between classes in the hall at school now?"

Klaus allowed a chuckle to slip out, "Be here tomorrow after school and wear something more comfortable."

He would let her get away with not admitting that she trusted him, having her come by and ask was enough for now. Opening the door for her this time, he let her leave his home unharmed anymore. Klaus had made his point; she wasn't going to forget the most important rule.


	8. Confession is Good for the Soul

**Post 4x10 Caroline confesses to Klaus**

Klaus stood in the bar with all his newly turned vampires. A beeping on his phone broke him from his focus. An unknown number beeped at him, indicating a text message. Intrigued as to who was contacting him, he tapped on the message. His eyes widened a fraction at the sender.

_This Caroline, can we please talk? _

Klaus wanted nothing to do with her since the night of the murder of the mayor. Caroline was playing the part of the dutiful girlfriend, doing her best to support her grieving boyfriend giving all of her love and devotion to Tyler. Love and devotion Klaus wanted to be directed towards him, but she had only ever been a distraction.

He growled at the idea of her acting like nothing happened and shoved the phone back into his pocket. The carnage of Jeremy ferociously attacking the vampires soothed his emotions and the smell of warm blood and death numbed his mind. He returned to the bar, and resumed his drink, mindlessly sipping the scotch as Jeremy ran outside with Damon and Matt hot on his heels.

The phone was burning a hole in his pocket though. Unable to push the blonde from his mind he gulped the rest of his drink down and threw the cup across the room, littering the floor in tiny shards. Picking up his phone he dialed Damon.

"What?" Damon crossly huffed into the phone.

Klaus made an effort to not be annoyed by Damon's tone. "It would appear I have to some business that requires my attention back in Mystic Falls. I shan't be gone long, so do your best to not get my hunter killed."

He snapped the phone off before Damon could retort. Grabbing a bottle of scotch from behind the counter, Klaus walked out of the bar. He was in no rush to get to Caroline's but couldn't stop himself from going either. The lights in the Forbes' home were all out except for Caroline's bedside lamp when he arrived, his bottle almost completely empty and in a lot safer mood to handle her.

Smirking, he let himself into the house grateful the Sheriff had not taken back her invitation. However he was stopped by a firm hand on his chest, Caroline standing before him with a finger over her mouth. Klaus heard the steady rise and fall of her mother's chest from the back bedroom. Caroline walked past Klaus into the cool night, casting her head over her shoulder waiting for him to follow.

Klaus wordlessly went back outside, joining Caroline on the front step. Klaus watched from the side of his eye Caroline tuck her legs up into her chest and lay her head on her knees. It was clear even in the faint moonlight she had been crying for quite some time. A small part of him halted at the sight; melting the iciness he had tried so very hard to guard him.

"What do you need Caroline?" he said harshly.

Caroline wiped an errant tear from her face. "I hate you," she blurted out.

Klaus immediately frowned; he did not come all this way to be told off. The alcohol in his system was dulling his senses but her words still stung deeply. He gathered all his control to not retaliate letting a blank mask of control slip into place. The things he did for her.

"Rebekah is awake and trapped us all at the school tonight." she started out in a small voice. It sound forced and practiced, apparently Caroline had spent some time preparing what she wanted to say to him. Klaus knew that he wasn't going to get away until she had said her piece.

He nodded his head at her words, "Kol already informed me of my sister's waking state."

Caroline nodded in response and fell silent. After a minute she continued her speech. "She forced Tyler to turn and run after us. We had all been compelled so we couldn't leave the school."

Klaus stiffened but relaxed, she wasn't hurt so at least the mongrel hadn't bitten her. Cocking his head at her raised a brow. "Us?"

"Elena and Stefan" she said dismissively rolling her eyes.

Tears began to swell up in her eyes, threatening to run over. "After Tyler switched back he finally started to talk to me about his mom."

The silent understanding that Klaus had killed Carol went unspoken but that didn't stop him from stiffening. If she kept talking about Tyler he would leave. Caroline noticed the change is his body and turned her head away from him.

"He told me he was not going to be around vampires any longer, that all they did was bring misery. So he packed up his bags and left to go be with the pack he made friends with last time." Caroline choked out, the tears brimming over onto her cheeks.

Klaus was conflicted. He was upset that Tyler was gone. It meant he couldn't exact revenge on him. But at the same time he was grateful that once again there was no boy to distract Caroline and he had her all to himself. Tyler never treated Caroline the way she should and this was just further proof that she didn't belong with him.

The minute he thought that his bitterness stomped down the feeling. Letting out a small snarl he turned his face to Caroline's for the first time. "So you thought you'd come running to me and it would be alright?"

He was hurt by the pettiness of her actions but would never admit that to her. Whatever he thought was irrelevant because Caroline shot her back up, snarling at him.

"No! Ugh, you seriously ruined everything."

Caroline's eyes burned in the night, face hard and angry. Klaus seared a look right back, refusing to let someone talk to him like that.

"Go on sweetheart, tell me how you really feel," he goaded her. With every word she said, Caroline was making it easier for him to hate her. By the time they were through with the conversation she would be like any other woman in his life; disposable.

The statement was the breaking point; standing up Caroline threw her fists to her sides her fury boiling over.

"You had to make Tyler your hybrid; you had to make him bite me to satisfy your need to control. Then you had to ruin everyone's lives to break your stupid curse and I hate you for killing and hurting my friends."

Caroline started to pace back and forth, Klaus standing up watching her with a trained eye.

"Then you had to worm your way into my life with all your gifts and try to seduce me but I saw through all of that. You wouldn't take no for answer and just kept trying to get me to like you."

She fell silent for a moment and Klaus thought she was done but she suddenly picked up again with a furious pace. "I hate that you told me about yourself, the romantic gifts, you made me feel like the only girl in the world and made me feel guilty for trying to hurt you. You seriously messed with my brain because all I can think about is you and I hate it because you're supposed to be the bad guy."

Klaus paused for a moment at the statement. She thought about him? His eyes flickered with hope before dying again. He was supposed to hate her, so he could rid himself of her. Caroline's pacing stopped and she fell silent.

"You went and killed the mom of the guy I'm supposed to love, a sweet innocent woman who never hurt anyone," she spat out in the harshest voice he had ever heard her use.

Klaus instantly growled back, he was not going to take this any longer from her. "Caroline," he warned drawing out her name to emphasize his seriousness.

Caroline simply shook her head and held a finger up to his lips. "The messed part is I hate myself more than I hate you."

Both of his eyebrows shot into his hairline; the statement caught him completely off guard.

Caroline's face lost its anger and dulled into extreme guilt and sadness. "I hate myself because I get it. I understand why you act the way you do, I always have. I hate that you kill people because it's wrong but I can't deny that underneath I want to as well. Today I willingly without a second thought decided to kill Rebekah. Not thinking about all the other deaths I would be causing. It's sickening what this town is doing to me and I hate it. Tyler was smart and decided to leave."

Klaus had enough. He didn't want to hear anymore of her words, he got it she loathed him. He sped away, leaving her standing in front of her house, going straight to his. Opening the door and slamming it shut he strode straight to the bar determined to drown out the night in more alcohol. The slap of bare feet followed him and he could smell Caroline's intoxicating scent behind him.

"Go away Caroline before I kill you," he snarled at her.

"I'm not finished!" she yelled back.

Klaus whipped around to grab her but she blocked his hand. The defiance of the action and the stubbornness on her face reminded Klaus of the very reason he enjoyed her so. He paused and Caroline smiled sweetly.

The fury melted away from her face and she nervously cleared her throat. "The thing is I don't really hate you. I want to but I can't. I try to remind myself of all the horrible things you've done and it still doesn't work. Now I don't know what that means for me but you make me feel alive and I'm not willing to give that up."

For the second time within the span of an hour Caroline shocked Klaus into silence. His plan to completely be through with her was thrown out the window. After those words, Klaus doubted if he ever could be through with her. They stood there two bruised and battered souls too confused by their own emotions but couldn't deny that despite everything something existed between them.

It wasn't a declaration of love or a willingness to jump into bed with each other despite Klaus wanting to ravish her completely. It was Caroline finally admitting she was willing to take a chance on him. Something Klaus wouldn't pass up.


	9. It Mattered to You

**Caroline causes an accident and Klaus give her another reason to like him.**

"Klaus, stop following me. I want nothing to do with you." Caroline walked further along the road desperate to get away from him. She knew he could easily catch up to her but for some reason who knew why, probably just to check out her backside, he was content with just lagging behind her.

"Come on love, your mother did give an invitation into your home." The cockiness was just rolling off him and making Caroline want to puke.

Not able to stand it any further she abruptly halted, twirling around to give him a piece of her mind. The heat radiated of her heating the space between them. Caroline inched until she was in his face, determined to only look into his eyes. When she tried to look at all of him, her brain went fuzzy and she couldn't think straight.

"It does not mean you have permission to come into my room and go through my stuff!" she hissed.

She had caught the hybrid lying out on her bed reading her journal when she came home from school. To make matters worse he was reading the part where she outlined in painstaking detail everything about him. She didn't know what mortified her more the prospect of him knowing exactly how she thought about him or the fact she had feelings for him at all.

"Caroline love, you need to move." Klaus suddenly demanded. He reached out to grab her but Caroline wrenched herself from his reach.

"No, you don't get to tell me what to do. So back the hell away." She snarled furiously and so incensed she didn't hear the sound of the approaching car.

Klaus stepped forward and Caroline backed away again. "Piss off and go find some other vampire to call love."

"Stop being so stubborn and just listen to me, you need to move!" Klaus ordered more frantically this time. Panic caused Caroline's heart to drop when she heard the squeal of tires behind her. She closed her eyes as she waited for the spilt second of impact but it never came. The loud sound of a crash thudded in Caroline's ears to the left, ringing creating a disorientating sensation.

Opening her eyes she realized Klaus had thrown her and himself off the ground into the bush. Caroline had been so petrified by the anticipation of impact that the feel of being launched through the air and shielded by his body never dawned on her. He was too close, his mouth just hovering above hers and the lightheaded feeling returned. His body was tightly pushed on top of hers, feeling everything about him. It made her woozy and unconsciously she found herself leaning up into him, lips just centimeters away.

A piercing scream shattered the moment and Klaus instantly flashed up baring his fangs in the direction of the scream. Caroline was right beside him, clutching his arm in fear. When she realized what she had done, she dropped her hand as if burned by his touch. Caroline came back to her senses and realized the scream was coming from the car that nearly hit her.

The alluring scent of blood filled her nostrils and Caroline flashed over to the car without even thinking. The sudden waved of bloodlust seemed insatiable and all she wanted to do was satisfy that urge. However the urge dropped and her face paled as she saw the driver of the car bleeding and crying. It was a pregnant woman with the sweet sticky blood covering her abdomen.

Guilt smacked Caroline in the face; she had caused this accident because she couldn't be bothered to listen to Klaus. Caroline frantically opened the door and listened for the heartbeat of the baby inside the woman. Crying out a loud when she could hear the tiny little beat pattering away she hurriedly tried to help the injured woman. The lady was stopped screaming, the eyes rolling back in her head. There was a drop in the heartbeat and Caroline freaked.

"Klaus! Help me!" Caroline screamed. She could not let this woman and her baby die.

Ripping the car door off, Caroline flung it back narrowly missing Klaus' head. Klaus thankfully didn't react, his face calm and indifferent. He just leaned against the frame of the damaged car not moving to help her. Caroline growled at him, why did he have act all big bad hybrid now? The baby's heartbeat was much too high and if Caroline didn't act soon it was going to die.

Klaus put a hand on her shoulder and she smacked it away. "Caroline they'll never make it," he said lifelessly boring into her eyes.

"I refuse to accept that! I caused this, I have to fix it. You are fast enough; you can get her to the hospital." Caroline was trying to yank on the seatbelt but the trembling of her hands prohibited her. After struggling again and failing she instead pushed back the steering wheel shoving into the engine to make more room. Klaus instantly grabbed Caroline and roughly pulled her away from the wreckage. Caroline moved her arm to punch him from stopping her but he just glowered at her and turned to the unconscious woman. With a swift pull at the base of the seat he yanked the woman, chair and all, in an impressive display of strength.

Growling at Caroline he turned back towards Mystic Falls, "Stay here."

In a blur he was gone. Caroline took a deep breath, tears still rolling down her face. Raising her hand to push back the curls that fell down around her, she noticed the blood that stained her hands. Caroline stared down at the red liquid, the guilt of the accident consuming her and in a feverish display of grief, madly began to wipe away the color on her pants, the ground, anything to get it off her hands.

"Love, stop." Two hands captured her frenzied movements but Caroline paid him no attention. She tried to wiggle with all her might to free her hands, blood still showing. Klaus wouldn't let her, his grasp was much too strong and determination even more so. Caroline thrashed on until she had no more strength, her body spent from fighting the original hybrid. Klaus just stood there patiently never uttering a word.

When she finally calmed, Klaus released her hands. Caroline stopped her crying, trying to regain what little composure she had left. "Why did you help? You cared nothing for that woman's life."

She was curious, she couldn't help it. Klaus never did anything it seemed like without having a benefit for him. His face was full of a look Caroline didn't understand but finally he shrugged settling for an indifferent look Caroline did now. "You're correct; their lives meant nothing to me. However you do, and saving them was important to you."

Caroline nodded after a minute, accepting it as truth. He made no suggestion that there was a secret agenda for his actions and she was grateful for that. Too tired from her guilty emotions and in desperate need of comfort, she stumbled forward resting herself against his chest. She could felt his body stiffen but relax after a moment then slowly arms wrapped around her.

"Thank you," she mumbled into his chest. She would have to add another reason to her journal of why she was falling for Klaus, hopefully this time he wouldn't find it.


	10. Welcome to New Orleans

**Caroline goes to New Orleans to look for Klaus but meets Marcel first. -Please don't attack me for the dialogue. I grew up in the south. I however did not grow up in New Orleans and if I made it sound to 'bama let me know.**

The building didn't seem like anything much, just melting into the multitude of colorful Creole townhomes along the crowded street. Caroline shrugged her shoulders, just desperate to be out of the humidity and leave the pungent stench of human sweat to the streets of the sweltering summer night. Stepping inside she quickly eyed the dark bar searching for him, but he wasn't there. Huffing in frustration she decided she might as well get a drink out of the trip and sauntered over to the bar with her chin in the air.

Hot gazes her thrown her way by the varying men at their tables, beady eyes boring into the back of Caroline's head as she popped up onto a bar stool. The bartender gave a short smile of surprise at seeing the beautiful young girl sitting in front of him, a knowing look in his eyes.

"Wha'it gonna be missy?" his drawled voice hanging thick with a heavy accent.

Caroline twisted a curl for a minute, "Scotch please."

A man came up and casually leaned against the bar next to Caroline. "Now isn't yer momma gonna be wonderin' where her pretty little girl gone off and run to?" he slurred out with a cocky grin.

Caroline meant to eye the man with a disdainful scowl but the minute she turned her head to look at him all scornful thoughts stopped. The man screamed sex from his sun tanned skin to the layers of dark hair framing his stubbled face and deep dark eyes. He was old New Orleans with the Spanish and French blood in him. The stupid cocky grin reminded her of Klaus; it was same damn assuming manner. The man's eyes were twinkling with mischief as he tipped back his beer to his lips.

"A young lady such as yourself shouldn't be around here. You'd best run on home before ya getcha into trouble," he went on arrogantly.

The old bartender stiffened at his place behind the bar, holding Caroline's drink in his hand. He looked from the man to Caroline with a slight nervous tick. It was clear the bartender wanted to say something but his voice was caught in his throat. Caroline instantly hated the man next her for scaring off the bartender. Why was it that all good looking men she met could be such jerks?

Sweetly smiling at the attractive man then snapping into a frown she spat out, "I'm much older than you think, in fact too old for you. Now go away, please."

The mischief dropped from the man's eyes into a cold stare and he leaned dangerously close into Caroline's face, his hot breath tickling her skin. The bar had gone dead silent watching the interaction between the two and Caroline held her face in the harsh scowl not afraid of him. His brown eyes narrowed but Caroline wasn't having it. She did not handle men who thought they could walk all over her and felt her fangs itch to break loose and show the guy a thing or two.

"This is my place honey and when I say leave, I mean it. There are rules around my city and if ya ain't gonna follow them then ya best be goin'."

He voice was a deadly whisper and all Caroline wanted to do was punch him in the face. But she breathed in the faint smell unique to vampires and shot her eyes down to the man's chest and heard no heartbeat. The man winked up at Caroline at her dawning realization that she just pissed off some vampire who was probably years older than her.

"Marcel."

Caroline spun in her chair in surprise at the familiar voice to see Klaus standing against the pillar by the pool table. She had never been so relieved in all her life to see him. Klaus' demeanor was casual but Caroline recognized the dark threat in his eyes. He shrugged off the pillar with lazy ease, striding up to them with such authority that even Marcel sunk in for a moment. Klaus came to the other side of Caroline resting one hand possessively on the small of her back pulling her into him.

"Love, what my uncouth friend here failed to do was introduce himself. May I present Marcel Jamet my protégé and self-proclaimed king of the French Quarter," Klaus icily stated. He raised his fingers to the bartender, the man finally giving Caroline her drink.

Marcel bent forward in a mock bow, "Welcome to Nor'lins. You must be Miss Caroline Forbes."

He moved to kiss her hand but between the searing looks from both Klaus and her he backed off and went back to sipping his beer as if nothing happened. Throwing money down on the bar for Caroline's drink, Klaus quickly ushered her back outside into the sticky humid night.

Caroline hooked her hand around his arm, not sure what to do. It was the first time she had seen Klaus is seven years and this was not the reunion she envisioned. She had wanted to met him at the bar, flirt a little and then race off to some dark corner to have her way with him. Instead he was stiff and seething and she was pretty sure he was trying not to go back into the bar and rip out Marcel's heart.

She rolled her eyes unwilling to deal with his drama. Pulling him away from the sea of people on the brightly lit streets into a cramped dark alley she asked, "What's wrong?"

Klaus' face finally stopped clenching, the rigidness melting into a relaxed grin. The soft glow of the street lights filtered through highlighting his strong features as he reached out a hand to Caroline's cheek. "I almost thought you wouldn't come love," he paused for a minute before continuing, "Marcel knew who you were the minute you walked into the bar, he was testing you."

Caroline scoffed, "Testing me? What on earth for, he has no right to judge me?"

She hated when people did that, especially vampires because that usually meant getting kicked out of town. Klaus smirked, "He needed to see if you survive around here and you passed with flying colors."

Caroline smirked before dazzling him with a smile, "Of course I did, and this is me we're talking about."

Klaus gave her another smug grin before offering his arm again, "Come now, and let me show you New Orleans properly. I have so many plans for you."

The heat in his eyes as he said the last bit melted Caroline's insides with the hidden promise for later, something she really wanted. Taking his arm and letting him lead her back out into the crowd, Caroline knew meeting Marcel was not going to ruin her night.


	11. Rule Three

**Klaus' third rule when teaching Caroline to fight**

They stood facing opposite each other, inching around in a tight circle. Blue flames staring into a blue thunderstorm, every movement was studied and carefully calculated. Caroline couldn't deny that she never felt freer than she did in these moments with Klaus. For three months now she had been learning from him everyday how to be the fighter, to be more than the blonde distraction.

A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Caroline's face and she instantly faltered disgusted she was sweating. Klaus immediately pounced towards her, fangs and all, with a ferocious snarl. Hands flashed up in front of her face, an automatic reaction to him pouncing. Adrenaline pumped her through veins when she felt the block through the air, reaching down to halt the second attack to her gut.

They sparred on, each going on the offensive and defensive. Caroline threw a powerful kick but Klaus caught her foot, running his hands up the bare skin of her calf with a wolfish grin. Caroline felt the heat spike threw her but she was determined to not buckle under the intensity of his gaze. Kicking her other leg up, she twisted out of his hold and fell to the ground before popping back up. Never in her life had her cheerleading skills been so useful.

Klaus smirked at the display of flexibility; she never ceased to amaze him. He had been tempting her since day one and she had never given in once, it was their little game. He would throw a searing look here or there, hot breath tickling her ear, or holding her against him longer than necessary. Caroline would push back by showing just the right amount of cleavage, wrapping her legs tightly around him as she used her body to flip him over and grind just a little harder into his pelvis all the while twinkling in her eyes.

He didn't know how much longer he could take it; even his patience and self control were wearing thin. Then today she came over wearing a pair of ridiculous short red shorts. He had a hard time keeping focus, the long slender legs begging to be touched with firm curve of her behind barely covered by the thin red material. She was trying to drive him crazy, he knew and she knew it. So Klaus let her because he knew before the day was through she was going to be out of those shorts and in his arms.

Caroline struck out another leg, knocking Klaus out on his feet but she couldn't move fast enough before he rushed her. Flashing her fangs at him, he grabbed her by the middle and pinned her roughly down. But Caroline simply wrapped her foot around his ankle, rolling them over and surprisingly trapping him. She retracted her fangs sweetly smiling down at him before frowning.

"Don't pin me," she snarled, she couldn't stand being pinned.

Klaus growled, easily breaking free of her grip on his wrists and shoved her across the room. Caroline slammed into the wall cracking it; the move would have killed a human. Caroline scooted back on her butt getting out of the way as Klaus came back in for another assault, yanking his feet out from underneath him with all her strength. Klaus grunted as he smacked face first into the floor, the stinging pain alerting him to a broken jaw.

Caroline froze, crawling back over to him. Panicking, she tenderly rolled him over onto his back to inspect the damage his face. Klaus felt her hovering over him, lightly trying to touch the already healing bone. Klaus moved his jaw up and down trying to hasten the receding white hot pain shooting across his eyes. She had never gotten the upper hand on him before and it was an interesting feeling that he didn't like.

"Klaus," Caroline squeaked, "Are you okay? I'm so sorry."

It was a silly question she knew but he wasn't talking to her yet and she was freaking out. Klaus opened his eyes, the pain to a level he could easily handle and saw a halo of blonde curls falling around his face. Caroline was just above him pants of breath tickling his mouth and her chest heaving against him, pressing her breasts firmly into his chest. She was tossing a nervous glance between his eyes and the broken jaw, waiting for the all clear that he was back together.

Klaus wasn't thinking about the pain, he could only focus on was the curve of her body against him. All the desire he had ever felt manifested itself in one sudden pulse. Instead of replying to Caroline's question he grabbed her hips and pressed them down against his pelvis, allowing Caroline to feel exactly how he felt. Caroline's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second because he hadn't answered her but the feeling of him pressing up against her core finally broke her down.

She glanced at his mouth unconsciously licking her lips and then towards his eyes. The blue storm morphed into a raging inferno and Caroline felt her body flush with all her pent up need for him. Twining her hands his sandy hair she slammed her lips onto his, finally finding some release as he moved his full lips feverishly against hers.

Klaus pushed his tongue into her mouth, exploring ever inch of her claiming dominance that she tried to fight against. Anchoring one hand on the small of her back and dragging the other hand up her side, molding his hands to curve of her waist, flicking out and teasing the exposed skin of her breast he wrapped it around the back of her neck pressing her further into him. In a blur of movement Klaus flipped them, cradling Caroline below.

Smirking against her lips he pulled away just a fraction, Caroline turning her attention to loosening his pants, "I have decided on a new rule, love."

Caroline stared at him incredulously, "You cannot be serious."

Klaus chuckled at her angry glare, reaching down to trail kisses along her jaw. Reaching down he ripped the little excuse of clothing off her body and tossed them away, "Rule three: no red shorts."

Caroline giggled in response, nodding and happily returning to ridding him of his own clothes.


	12. Day and Night

**Caroline and Klaus are gods of the heavens**

Every time he laid his eyes to sleep after his race across the starry sky she filled his dreams. The gold curls cascaded down her back catching the warm light of the sun with every turn of her delicate hips. She would race across the day sky pulling the glorious sun behind her, her skin kissed by its furling rays. Klaus would sigh contently in his sleep as he watched her lithe body dance around gracefully wanting nothing more than to hold her.

But he could not for he was the lord of the night sky, the shroud of darkness and pale moonlight was his domain. His world was filled with terrors of monsters that would trap unsuspecting victims; she was a child of the sun blessed to be strong and full of light. She had no place in his world but he could not deny the inexplicable need to have her around him. In the brief moments when he ended his nightly journey he could see her tenderly waking the world with her pink light. He would call out her name and she would answer him by reaching out her hand to him, her fingers slipping through his.

It was the same pattern everyday but Caroline could not help but answer the seductive call of her name. They could never touch for day could never be in same world as night, and it filled her with aching loneliness. He was all she wanted, her dark lord of the night. Klaus would fill her dreams, the strong images of the god's body making her writher in moaning pleasure or at times with tenderness she did not think the cold night would have.

She was entranced with dark spell of his piercing stare and the slight quirking smirk he displayed so often on his subjects below. The others called them damned, to be forever chasing each other across the heavens. Caroline knew that they were eternally twined together .for they constantly desired the other never to achieve the blessed relief of touch. But in the small moments as she rose and saw him reaching out to call her, she swore if she moved just a little faster that maybe one time she would reach him.


	13. He's Mine

**I needed sassy Caroline...Caroline deals with the break up with Tyler with the help of a certain original hybrid.**

"Come on Caroline, you never miss a dance!" Elena pleaded trying to pulling Caroline out of her bed.

Elena and Bonnie were both dressed to the nines ready to go and were trying to pull a pajama clad and bawling Caroline out of bed.

"No! I was supposed go with Tyler and now…and now…" Caroline stumbled out, launching back into her waterworks.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and yanked Caroline out of the bed. Caroline flashed her fangs in protest but Bonnie just threw her a look of whatever. With a nod to Elena, she went over to Caroline's closest and pulled out the soft yellow dress Caroline bought weeks earlier.

Shoving both Caroline and the dress into the bathroom, Elena said "Screw Tyler, he was an ass so this is what you are going to do. You are going to pull yourself together and get dolled up. Then we are going to go to this dance and you are going to show him exactly what the hell he messed up. You give him no mercy; just show him how hot and fabulous you are!"

With that promise Elena shut the door. Caroline stood there a minute more, wiping away tear from her face. She never hated Tyler so much before in her life, damn him for breaking her heart. Now she didn't want to go to the stupid spring fling dance, she had never gone without a guy before and the thought terrified her. She could just imagine now all the whispers going around the dance floor about her breakup.

"I don't hear you getting ready!" Elena shouted through the door.

Bonnie's voiced joined hers, "Don't make us come in there and do it for you!"

"Alright! Just hold on, I'm trying to stop thinking of all the ways I can murder Tyler," Caroline bellowed back.

She was furious now, done throwing the Caroline pity party. Elena was right she was going to show Tyler exactly who he jerked around with. Caroline hung up the dress and got down to business, turning the water on. Caroline Forbes, former Miss Mystic Falls, did not let boys walk all over her.

Forty-five minutes later, all three girls were walking up to the dance arms linked and laughing. Caroline paused for a minute at the doorway of the gym, the blaring music blasting through the doors, deafening her.

Bonnie jerked when she realized Caroline was no longer in step with them, "Caroline, come on."

Caroline's face faltered almost ready to cry again but then she snapped out of it, dazzling them both with flashing smile.

"Let's go find us some hot boys to make out with," she said as she waggled her eyebrows.

Bonnie and Elena laughed hysterically and they entered in the room, letting the music take them away.

Caroline found herself actually enjoying herself as the more time went by. Elena never ditched her and Bonnie for Damon who was sulking off in the corner. A familiar musky smell drifted past her and her nose following to the source of the amazing smell. Somewhere in the midst of teenagers Caroline could see Klaus dancing away with some little brunette. Caroline scoffed at the sight but she wasn't sure why.

She saw Klaus' eyes flicker straight towards her, his piercing gaze trapping her in an iron hold. He let a slow, smug smirk spread across his face as the brunette who was dancing with him had no idea what he was smiling at. Someone crossed in front of Caroline breaking the moment, shaking her head she went back to dancing.

Klaus kept popping up over the dance floor throughout the night and Caroline tried her best to ignore him but she couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to claw out the eyes of every girl he danced with. A sigh of relief escaped when she realized he never danced with the same one.

She wouldn't admit but she was looking for him constantly. The urge to see who he was dancing with next was too strong; she had to know what girl would fall next on her list of people to hate forever. With each new dance partner his eyes would find hers, he never looked at his at partner, only her. It was intoxicating, the breath catching in her throat as he stared at her.

A tap on her shoulders and a very familiar smell washed over her. Caroline instantly felt her temper flare, dropping her eyes away from another eye sex moment with Klaus. Spinning around Caroline clenched her fists as she came face to face with Tyler. His face looked apologetic and sad, but Caroline wasn't having it.

"What the hell do you want Tyler?" she snapped.

Elena and Bonnie seemed to disappear all of sudden or maybe it was just the red rage goggles zeroing in on Tyler. She was so sick of him, the entire year had been a roller coaster ride and every since he broke the sire bond it was a roller coaster that was speeding down to its doom.

"Come on Care, I didn't mean it. I promise, just let me make it up to you," Tyler pleaded trying to grab her arm.

Caroline wrenched her hand from Tyler red definitely clouding over her eyes, "No Tyler, that's the thing; you meant every word. I can't ever be a wolf so stop trying to make me one, okay. Just back off already and get out of my face."

"Care!" he shouted after her but Caroline was already disappearing back into the crowd to drown him out.

She grabbed a cup full of some punch from the refreshment table that somebody no doubt already spiked and knocked it back. Yep, someone spiked it-she relished the faint burn of alcohol.

A dark chuckle sounded over her shoulder. Tossing the cup in the garbage, Klaus came round to her front with a smirk planted firmly on his face. Seeing her seething expression Klaus dropped the smile replacing it with a concerned expression. Caroline didn't like it; she'd rather deal with the smirk. Concern meant caring and that is not something she wanted to do at the moment.

Klaus reached out a hand to her shoulder and Caroline smacked it away. "What's wrong sweetheart; the dance not up to your liking?"

Caroline all but smacked him. He was trying to be jovial and she was too pissed off to deal with perky hybrids. He damn well knew why she was upset; he had been watching her the whole evening.

"The dance is fine, now its participants on the other hand not so much," she spat out

Klaus snorted at the comment and stepped closer into her, his eyes heatedly boring into hers like they had the whole night. Caroline felt the surge of emotion spike through tilting her head towards his just wanting to be closer. She couldn't deny that seeing him dance with all the other girls from her class made her want to just jump him so no one else could. Caroline froze realizing what she thought. Nope, not happening.

Stepping back from him, Caroline gave him a fake smile, "Run off and find your next dance partner, I'm sure they are just lining up to dance with you. Just don't drain them dry please. I don't want another lecture from my mother."

Caroline spun on her heel and walked away from him throwing a little extra swing in her hips. God, telling him off felt good. Approaching the door someone latched onto Caroline's arm, yanking hard.

"Hey Caroline, stay the hell away from my date. Just because your boyfriend broke up with you doesn't give you permission to go stealing other people's dates," someone snarled.

Caroline pulled away furious, it was the brunette she had first seen Klaus dancing with.

"Excuse me?" she snapped.

She finally placed the girl's face; she was from her biology class. Caroline never cared to remember her name because she was constantly trying to one up everyone. Now she was trying to tell her off? Caroline pinched the bridge of her nose to push back the overwhelming desire to rip out the girl's throat. The familiar ache of her fangs pressing against her gums throbbed in her mouth. It was not the night to get on her bad side. Shaking her head in anger, Caroline's eyes caught Tyler out on the dance floor with some girl grinding into him and to her great surprise she felt nothing.

"Bitch, I'm talking to you!" apparently the brunette was still rambling on.

Caroline shifted her gaze from Tyler back to the fuming girl in front of her. She just kept going on and on about Caroline following Klaus the whole night, blah, blah, blah. Caroline didn't listen because she got a glimpse of the devil himself back out on the dance floor throwing a searing look her way. Caroline watched him part his mouth and his tongue dart out and lick his full lips. The little action made Caroline's stomach flip flop into somersaults.

Shifting back to the sniveling girl Caroline rolled her eyes, "Seriously just shut up already, he was never yours. If anyone's he's mine."

A series profanities streamed out of the girl's mouth as Caroline walked away making a beeline for Klaus. She couldn't care if Elena or Bonnie saw, even less if Tyler saw. Her plan had to come to the dance to find some hot guy to make out with and all she wanted was Klaus not some teenage boy with stupid hormones. Was she going to regret this in the morning? Probably, but at the moment she could care less.

Klaus had the widest grin on his face when she reached him, "So I'm yours then, love?"

Caroline blanched not realizing he had heard her words but honestly she should have known better by this point. Fisting her hands into the lapels of his jacket, she pulled him forward, the mirth in his eyes matching hers.

"Oh shut up and kiss me before I change my mind."


	14. Survival

**Klaus saves Caroline during the battle with Silas but at a costly price.**

Ringing pounded in Klaus' ears as he attempted to open his eyes gain his bearings. His eyes were iron weights refusing to open, trilling whizzing whistling past him as turfs of dirt flew up around him, disorienting him. A piercing wailing sound rent the air quickly followed by the sweet smell of blood. It was the announcement of death. The smell of blood anchored Klaus as he shook his head to rid himself of the stinging sound in his ears. His shirt was being pulled on, sending Klaus closer to the dirt as another series of whizzing sound sailed through the hair flying right where his head had been, something frying the top of his hair.

Everything rushed back to Klaus as he finally opened his eyes to see himself face to face with none other than his favorite baby vampire. The usual cheerful smile and twinkle in her eyes were gone, a terrified horror frozen on her face. Caroline's bottom lip was quivering her deep blue eyes searching Klaus' gray ones for something he didn't know.

Another series of blasts shot over their heads Caroline and Klaus were both pressing into each other trying to disappear into the warm earth below them. Caroline buried her face into his heaving chest, her nose rubbing on the skin peaking just of above the neckline of his shirt. Klaus pressed his body completely against hers, wrapping his arms protectively around her back and placing his stubbled face into the top of her matted hair.

The minute the scatter burst of shots ended Klaus rolled them over completely into the dense undergrowth, until he was back on top of her as her living shield. The thick vegetation covered them providing their only cover. Klaus held a finger over her mouth when she tried to part her pink lips.

Tilting his head so his mouth was placed directly next to her ear, he whispered, "Don't even breathe."

He made such little sound that he knew that Caroline was the only one who heard his demand. He pulled back to look into to her eyes to see that she understood. Caroline blinked her eyes up at him too terrified to move. The sounds of the battle around them stilled for a minute their sensitive hearing picking up a snap of twigs on the forest floor. Caroline froze her hands on his shirt, stopping the steady rise of her lungs. Klaus mirrored her movements, looking nowhere else but Caroline's panicked eyes. Her whole body was rigid as sounds drew closer to them and the flurry of magical blasts began shooting in all directions over their heads again.

Klaus saw tears forming in Caroline's eyes when more screams sounded off in the distance, Klaus closed his eyes in recognition of the screams. It was Kol's voice and it took everything in his power not to flash off and help his brother. Trying to focus on keeping Caroline alive he curled his hands into the dirt to keep himself from racing to Kol's pained howls. Caroline yanked him tighter into her, knowing the voice too. Tears were following freely now as the sounds of death and blood seemed to spell their fates. There was only one shot at this or the world would burn and them with it.

Klaus gritted his teeth, his target close enough now that he could hear the steady heart beat with little help from his vampire senses. The steady thumping of the human muscle was a beacon, calling out to him to focus only on that sound. But Caroline forgot to be still and drew a quick intake of breath pressing her chest against Klaus'. He widened his eyes to stop her but it was too late, a flurry of blasts shot over them, burning straight threw the green and grazing over Klaus' body burning the top layer of his skin.

He growled in frustration, the blistering burn already healing over but leaving a gaping hole in his clothes. Caroline was going to die if he didn't get her out of there. With all the speed he possessed, he yanked Caroline up and threw her as hard as he could, watching her sail through the air at an inhuman speed disappearing from sight. At least she would be safe now he reasoned. Klaus could handle her yelling at him for the stunt later.

A dark laugh sounded over his shoulder and Klaus whipped around fangs bared to meet the horror that had caused all the death around him. Klaus stood face to face with Silas the harbinger of death in the form of Shane the professor the doppelganger knew. Klaus let the fury ripple through him that he contained as he had held Caroline. Wolf instinct took over giving Klaus the senses needed to study his prey.

In flash of movement Klaus whipped out the bewitched dagger Bonnie had given him and stabbed it into the heart of Silas, crippling the immortal warlock. Klaus was not prepared for the black lash of magic as Silas' magic imploded on itself creating a sonic boom sending Klaus flying through the air. Twice now in the same hour, Klaus was knocked off his feet and lying face down smashed into the dirt. He lay there for a minute completely spent before climbing up to all fours and stumbling onto to his feet.

The surrounding area was totally burned, the blast radius of Silas creating a crop circle effect in the middle of the jungle. Klaus looked around surveying the damage, the smell of burnt wildlife overpowering any other scent. A devastated cry brought Klaus' head to the east and he could see Caroline zooming back into view. He was at her side in an instant but she was already bending over screaming down at the lifeless body on the ground.

"Stefan, no, no please." she was begging him, shaking Stefan's body but Klaus could see the stake jutting from his old comrade's chest and the ashen pallor of his face.

Klaus stood there shell shocked and emotionless, his friend was gone. Caroline was sobbing, dirt and tears marring her porcelain skin and Klaus just wanted to wrap her up again and shield her from the scene surrounding them.

The entire plan had blown up in their faces and that was what caused all hell to break loose. All the teams racing for cure ended up in the same spot and Shane used their anger against each other as a distraction to wake Silas. All he wanted was Silas to bring back his family and instead Silas possessed him. The first victim of the battle was Elena, Silas ripping her heart clear from her chest letting her body turn to ash and drift away in the breeze rustling through the trees.

After that was a blur of action and chaos. Klaus just remembers pulling Bonnie aside to have her bewitch a dagger while Kol tried to keep them alive. Bonnie struggled to keep a hold of herself but her power consumed her and Silas and the young witch began dueling with their magic. Caroline ran in to try to knock over Bonnie to get her out of the slippery pool she was drowning in but Klaus stopped her just in time, Caroline almost getting incinerated from a fiery blaze.

Now the blonde was crying over her the still, cold bodies of her friends the heart-wrenching sobs tugging at Klaus' heart. Her mewling pleas for the friends to come back grew as she raced across the blast radius finding Damon, Bonnie, Tyler, and Elena all lying with the lights gone from their eyes.

"Klaus!" she shouted in desperation.

Klaus turned slowly at the sound of his name not fully understanding he was still too in shock at Stefan crumbling away in the wind. She called his name again, fear and panic waking him from his stupor. Flashing to her side, Klaus saw her hunched over another body, one that Klaus knew too well. Drifting up the body Klaus was met with the cold dark eyes of his younger brother, dried blood splattered on his face.

Caroline was staring at Klaus trying to formulate something to say but failing to do so. Klaus crumbled to his knees whispering, "My little brother."

He buried his head into Kol's chest, clenching the fabric of the torn and bloodied shirt. Tears fell of their own volition, as Klaus screamed unearthly curses to the sky. Kol wasn't supposed to die; he was an original only the white oak stake could hurt him. A grief he had not felt since Henrik's death paralyzed him as he once again failed to protect his younger sibling. Klaus didn't know how long he knelt there in the scorched dirt over Kol's body but Caroline did not leave his side. She sat there knees curled into her chest, covered in specks of dirt with lips trembling and drowning in her own grief.

At some point Caroline crawled around Kol and gingerly put her hand on Klaus' shoulder. Klaus closed his eyes at the warmth her small hand provided, surprised by the comfort emanating from her. His need to be touched by her warmth consumed him and he grabbed her and pulled her into his lap. Caroline wordlessly kissed his cheek, her salty tears mingling with his and wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him bury his face into hers.

They didn't talk about what happened, they didn't talk about the fact thousands of vampires around the world were going to die, they didn't talk about the only reason Caroline made it was because Klaus saved her, or the fact that they hadn't seen Rebekah yet. They both knew they were the only two who survived the destruction and for now they just held unto each other grateful that the other survived.


	15. For Bekah

**Okay, this drabble fits into the long story I wrote, _Together Someday, Always and Forever_. It takes place between the final chapter of the story and the epilogue. This is for my reader HotHybridSex I really hope this makes you happy. I gave little Bekah the happy ending she deserved. **

Caroline was curled into a ball alongside Klaus on the seat of the plane. A slight jolt of the plane startled her out of her sleep, pulling her from wonderful pleasant dreams full of the handsome man next to her. Attempting to hold onto the sinful dream playing in her head she moaned slightly but growing alertness drove away the images. Opening her eyes Caroline noticed Klaus sketching away in his notebook.

Klaus stopped the movement of his charcoal covered hand and looked up at his wife, amused by the sleepy grin she had on her face. Caroline had fallen asleep within minutes of the plan taking off, her head finding rest on his shoulder for most of that time. Stretching out her body just like a lithe cat she shook the remaining sleepiness away.

"Care to explain why we are heading towards Russia and not to Scotland, love?" he asked.

Caroline blushed, "Oh, I was hoping you wouldn't find out until we got there."

Klaus' jaw tightened just slightly, others changing plans on him was not something he handled well after all this time. When the captain had made the announcement they were almost to St. Petersburg his rage flared for a moment at being caught unawares. It would explain why the trip from Istanbul had been shorter and they were heading northeast instead of northwest. It still didn't explain why Caroline had asked the pilot to take them there instead of home to their relocated family in Edinburgh.

Instead of lashing out in anger, Klaus waited patiently for Caroline to explain her actions. Caroline looked out the window as the plane made its descent onto the runway, suddenly leaning back in her seat clenching the armrest. Caroline closed her eyes again waiting for the bump of impact with the runway, feeling a cool hand slid on top of hers. Rolling her head to Klaus' she leaned her forehead against his at the concerned frown.

Caroline snorted, "I'm hybrid over a thousand years old and plane landings still make my stomach lurch."

"A plane crash can't kill you sweetheart," Klaus pointed out nonchalantly.

His bored tone just earned him an eye roll. "Well it doesn't mean that it wouldn't hurt!" Caroline retorted.

They were so caught up in their little banter that Caroline never noticed the plane land and rolling to a stop. The voice of the pilot overhead broke their little argument announcing their arrival and that a driver was waiting outside for them. Caroline's face dropped her scowl and suddenly beamed at Klaus.

"You did that on purpose! I didn't even know that the plane landed." She stated at she unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up.

Klaus gave her a smug grin, mockingly holding up his hand to his chest with a fake innocence, "I would never do such a thing."

"Whatever, just come on. I want to take you somewhere." Caroline walked towards the plane door but realized he wasn't following. He just stood there with an expectant expression and his arms crossed. Caroline laughed at the pouty frown that he quirked his lips into when she didn't give him any details about where they were going or why they went to Russia.

Eyes twinkling madly, Caroline walked over and gently kissed him on the cheek and grabbed his hand, "Just trust me okay. I promise you'll like it."

Klaus couldn't but help be intrigued by the joyous smile and the light emanating from Caroline. Consenting with a growl, he let himself by lead from the plane into the car waiting for them. The windows of the car were tinted black not letting Klaus see where they were going. He thought of a hundred different ideas as to why Caroline brought him to Russia, trying to recall all of the times he had come to St. Petersburg in the past. Nothing really stood out to him except for a trip in 1864, it was the year that his-

Realization struck his mind and a weight smashed down on him as he realized exactly where they were going. He wrapped his around Caroline's shoulders, bringing her closer to him.

"Thank you," he whispered voice thick with emotion.

Caroline's happy face turned into a more somber one, not having to ask why he said what he did. She wondered if he would even remember but it was clear that he did. He reached down and tucked a stray curl behind her ear before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. Caroline was lost in the wonderful caress of his tongue in her mouth when the car rolled to a stop. Caroline broke from his lips and reached out to open the door.

The opulent white building stood before them, as Caroline and Klaus exited the car. Caroline smiled admiring how the building did not reflect the passage of time as the rest of the city did. It made her feel younger and not so tired, Klaus' hand linked into hers as he pulled her up the marble steps to the entrance. He led her through the dizzying maze of galleries, the memory of museum feeling fresh in his mind.

As they drew closer to the appropriate hall, Klaus felt an ounce of trepidation at seeing his painting again. He hadn't returned since the initial opening, the subject of the painting had always made him feel depressed and happy at the same time. It had been a difficult work to create but the image wouldn't leave his mind until he painted it. Now he knew why.

Skidding to stop in open hallway, Klaus led Caroline past the other paintings, focused on one medium sized painting on the far wall. They stopped both silent in front of the painting taking in the subject matter, lost in their own thoughts. Caroline reached out as if to touch the brushstrokes but Klaus held her hand back, bring her into his chest. A stray tear escaped Caroline's eye and Klaus could feel his own chest tighten with strong emotions.

Caroline cleared her throat, keeping her eyes on the colorful strokes amazed at the talent Klaus possessed. "This painting is how I knew I loved you. It was the final evidence that all the years of loneliness and keeping my distance were going to be worth it."

Klaus nodded stiffly not sure how to respond.

They stood in silence letting memories of the years pass over them until Klaus was unable to stare at it any longer. The painful memories of screams and blood that should have never been spilt overcame the good memories. Tugging on Caroline's hand he tried to get her to leave but Caroline stood firmly not wanting to leave.

"Do you think they'd let us buy the painting?" she asked wistfully.

Klaus paused before answering the question, "If the painting stays here it will be forever take care of, immortal like us."

Caroline nodded briefly saddened by his answer but knew he was right. Their life was going to be full of turmoil and constant moving the painting would be safer here.

"I'll sketch you a copy on the plane and we can put up in our room," he promised. He didn't have to ask why it meant so much because he if admitted it he wanted the painting just as much.

Caroline nodded at the promise. Throughout the years there had been many times that she couldn't fathom how Klaus and she were going to get along again once she released him from his memory hold. The only reason she came to the Hermitage to see the painting when it was first unveiled was because Klaus had mentioned it when Caroline was still in high school the night of the ball at his home. Curiosity had once again gotten the best of her and when she saw the painting for the first time all anger melted away and it took everything she had not to break down into tears in the middle of the museum.

The image was so real; Caroline could almost feel the wind blowing across mountain side that was the focal point of the painting. The sunlight was shining through the clouds illuminating the crags and points of the brilliant green mountain sloping down into the valley bellow where a still lake reflected the peaks surrounding it. It was a beautiful capture of the home they had once had a thousand years ago before their family had been viciously separated.

But it wasn't the captured beauty of nature that Caroline loved so much but two figures sitting on a ledge on the mountain overlooking the valley. It was a man holding a little girl in his lap both of them with matching curly sandy hair. The little girl was sleeping in the arms of her father, peaceful and content, not a mar on her skin. Klaus didn't even know at the time what he had painted, to him it was just a father and daughter but Caroline had known better.

In tiny black letters on a gold plate next to the image two words were inscribed.

_For Bekah_

Caroline smiled once more at the painting, the face of her beautiful lost daughter living forever in its brilliant brushstrokes.


	16. Please Caroline

**4x12 Caroline discovers Kol's body and Klaus at the Gilbert home**

Caroline stood unsteadily at the front door of the Gilbert home. Elena called her in a panic telling her to get to her house because Klaus was inside. Caroline hung up immediately and ran over, determined to give Klaus a piece of her mind for weaseling his way into the house. As she turned the door knob, the sound of silence greeted her.

"Klaus?" she called out cautiously as she stepped over the threshold.

No answer came, but that wasn't what caught made her stop in her tracks. Lying on the ground in the kitchen was a charred body, the smoke still coming off it and the smell of burnt flesh filling the whole house.

"Klaus!" Caroline squeaked out in a panic.

She flashed to the body, crumpling beside it, the charred flesh rendering identification impossible. Covering her mouth, a strangled sound escaped her throat as tears began to prick at the corners of her eyes. Klaus wasn't supposed to die, he couldn't be dead. Her hands started to shake as she reached out to touch the smoking body.

"Caroline, love," Klaus' voice called out to her.

Caroline straightened up at the sound, her memories were playing tricks on her with his soft accented voice full of kindness he only held for her. Anger flared through Caroline, what the hell was Elena thinking? Elena said Klaus was at the house not that she killed him. Elena had just signed their death warrants and didn't even give a damn.

"Sweetheart," Klaus' voice said again haunting Caroline's mind.

Caroline shook her head, sending her hair flying. Curling her knees to her chest she rocked back and forth, his voice wasn't going away. Not that it mattered anymore; she was going to die soon anyway.

Again the Klaus' voice spoke again, "Caroline turn around."

Whipping her head around she saw Klaus crumpled on the floor of the living room in the doorway leading to the kitchen. Caroline gasped at the sight of him; he had tear tracks on his face and a deeply pained expression. Not thinking about anything else she ran to his side, utterly relieved to see him alive. Her arms were wrapped around his hunched shoulders, pulling him into her. Something wasn't right because the man before her was broken not the alpha she knew how to handle.

All she could think to herself was; what the hell had Elena done? If Klaus was alive, then who was the person on the ground? Caroline stiffened, Klaus would only have a reaction like this if it was his family, that meant-

"Oh no, " she whispered.

Whether she was trembling in sadness for seeing Klaus hurt over his brother's death or if it was because she knew that he was going to rain hell on all of them now she wasn't sure, but her whole body couldn't stop shaking. Klaus pulled out of her arms, letting an iron mask of blankness assume control. She let him because there wasn't much else she could do to the contrary.

"Please Caroline," he uttered softly. It seemed as if he was too afraid to speak above a whisper.

Caroline looked up into his face, seeing his eyes focused only on the body a few feet away. He had never said please to her in all the time she had spent with him and that scared her. Klaus didn't say anything else and Caroline didn't think that he could lest he slip out of his mask of nothingness. Sensing his unspoken request, Caroline walked back to the body and gingerly lifted Kol up and carried him into the living room.

She set him down in Klaus' lap and watched Klaus hold his brother close to his chest, muttering something she couldn't hear. The sight broke her heart, tears falling of their own accord. The moment was too private even for her so she quietly backed out of the room, letting Klaus mourn for the loss of his little brother.


	17. Take a Chance

**This was an anon request from a my tumblr: necklace-of-fallen-stars. Klaus walks Caroline to her front door on the last day of school. **

He was leaning up against the front porch with that ridiculous smug grin of his, when she pulled up into the driveway. Caroline pretended to be busy on her phone for a minute as she collected herself in the car. She could not understand why the man standing there waiting for her, the slight tick of annoyance pricking at the back of her mind. Though she wouldn't admit it there was a slight anticipation seeing him there. The infuriating man was good looking; she'd be stupid not to admit that at least.

Caroline checked again to see if there were any texts on her phone, when the car door opened up and she noticed Klaus holding the door there for her, she wouldn't admit but there were butterflies in her stomach. Instead she gulped and plastered a scowl on her face.

"Isn't there someone else you could be out torturing?" was her snide question.

Klaus let out a small side smile and held out his hand to her. Caroline's eyes flickered between him and his hand for second before ignoring him and standing up out of the car herself. She pretended to not notice the frown Klaus gave in return, but he recovered just as quickly.

He closed the door behind her, "Love, I think your idea of torture is sorely mistaken."

Caroline scoffed at him with an incredulous look. Did he really just say that? She ignored him and continued to walking to the front door but found Klaus instantly by her side. Each step was taken in silence and it was killing her. Reaching the front door, she couldn't figure out what he was still doing there. She tried to take her keys out of her bag and pretend he wasn't there but that was impossible his proximity and delicious smell distracting her. Leaning her head against the doorframe for a moment with a dramatic sigh she turned around, "What do you want Klaus?"

Klaus' smirk disappeared, leaving a genuine smile, "I wanted to offer congratulations. Your last day of high school, the rest of your life can begin. There is no longer anything holding you back from staying in this forsaken town."

Caroline jutted out her chin, "Thank you, and now please leave."

She went back to unlocking the door, the keys jumbling about but Klaus didn't leave. Instead he stepped up behind her, leaving just the barest of spaces between their bodies. It didn't matter though the heat radiating from him was still just as overpowering causing her to drop the keys. She felt her breath catch in her the throat, his musky scent always made her head dizzy. Unconsciously she leaned the few centimeters into his heat, finding relief when she pressed against his chest. His hand reached around her, enclosing his large one around her smaller one bringing her hand away from the door.

She was shaking and she didn't know why. His whole body was pressed against her back with his hand trapping hers against her side and leaving hot puffs of air next to her ear. Caroline just wanted to melt into him but she knew she shouldn't. One minute she hated him and the next she didn't, it was too confusing. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment as she felt him bend around her just a fraction more relishing the wonderful feeling.

"My offer still stands," he whispered sending shivers down her spine.

Caroline snapped out of it at that point. He still had the gall to ask that after everything he did? She whipped around, the cool rush of air between them saddening her heart. Her eyes were dangerously glinting at his, steaming with anger. She snapped out, "No, you don't get to say that anymore."

Klaus' eyes snapped from warm to cold instantly, growling at her, "Have I not paid the price enough Caroline? Can you not truly find it in you to give me a chance?"

Caroline cringed at the statement; he had paid the price more than everyone else in the town including Tyler. Not that Tyler mattered anymore; he ditched her just like he always did. Feelings fluttered through her; could she really give Klaus a chance? She opened her open mouth to say something but she never got the chance. Klaus' lips were pressed against hers with a tenderness she didn't except from him. Caroline stood there eyes wide open and shocked from the feeling of his full lips moving on hers.

Sensing her lack of response Klaus pulled away from her. His eyes were drown trodden and Caroline was still too shocked to move. She just stood there blinking at him absently. Without a word Klaus turned away and started walking off. Caroline felt herself slowly come back to her senses, pressing the tips of her fingers to her tingling lips. Never in her entire life had someone made her feel so loved with one tender kiss especially considering it was Klaus.

With a sharp intake of breath, Caroline gasped and fell back into the door. She never wanted that feeling to go away and even more so she didn't want it from anyone else other than him.

"Klaus!" she yelled pushing herself off the door.

Klaus appeared in front of her instantly with a flicker of hope behind his cold mask. Caroline didn't say anything her eyes flitting to his then down to his lips. Closing the space between them, Caroline brushed her lips against his this time trying to show him the repressed emotion they both knew she had been holding back. He let her guide the kiss, emotions conveyed through blissful touch rather than words but Caroline wanted more of him. The second she deepened the kiss, Klaus took control expertly making her melt into him.

She felt her knees buckle betraying the power he had over her. Klaus slipped a cocky grin against her lips and wrapped his arms around her and walked her back to the door, their bodies pressing against it for support. Caroline needed it because the only thing holding her up at this point was the length of his body pressing against hers. His tongue dancing around in her mouth made it impossible to think straight. She weaved her hands up his chest and grabbed his shirt to bring him in closer but Klaus slowed the pace of their kisses. He broke from her lips and rested his forehead against hers. They both were panting heavily drunk on the feel of each other.

"Take a chance, Caroline," he whispered between breaths.

Caroline closed her eyes and found that she really wanted to, more than anything. She was going to live forever and that was a long time to regret not at least trying. She cleared her throat and opened her eyes to look into his; they only held genuine affection and the slightest trace of fear. She smiled brightly, "Would you like to come inside?"


	18. Pink

**This is just silly nonsense that popped into my head, oh well. It made me laugh and that was what I was aiming for._ Klaus discovers the color of Caroline's panties._**

Klaus heard the front door open and shut as Caroline walked into the Forbes' house. The click of her boots across the floor didn't head into her bedroom like he hoped but instead stopped short and turning into the kitchen. Klaus turned his head; Caroline softly began singing the words to some song the world passed off as music these days. Her voice was an unexpected delight; he didn't know that she could sing. Intrigued by perfect tone he raised himself off her bed where he had taken residence waiting for her.

Not wanting to disrupt her melody he stalked towards the kitchen, the fall of his footsteps undetectable even for her. His breath caught as he rounded the corner to casually lean against the doorjamb. Caroline was twirling about on her bare feet with her eyes closed lost in some song and dance. Laughing in delight, she kept singing pulling various ingredients from the cupboards completely unaware of the hybrid watching her every move.

Reaching down to grab something, she growled in frustration when she couldn't reach far enough into the cupboard to get it. Klaus widened his eyes in surprise then shifting into blissful amusement as she dropped down to all fours, her dress riding up and giving him a clear view of pale pink lace panties curving around the firm cheeks of her behind. A growl escaped his lips at the sight, his body instantly reacting to the wonderful sight.

An immediate bang resounded as Caroline jumped in surprise finally detecting his presence, slamming her head into the roof of the floor cupboard she was currently digging around in. Shuffling backwards on her knees did nothing to help Klaus as every movement highlighted her long legs and he fixated on the slip of pink fabric. Caroline rubbed her head as she whipped around and noticed Klaus staring at her with a lustful fire in his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as his fire burned straight to her core and tried to gulp to press down the feeling as her face flushed.

Klaus smirked at the brilliant pink hue her face took on suddenly finding it to be his favorite color on her. Caroline stared down and realized that her dress had somehow pushed up and Klaus had a clear view of her pelvis. The horror of embarrassment exploded across her face as she scrambled to shove the dress down and over her hips. She stood up and went about her business trying to act as nothing happened in an attempt to recover from her mortification.

He couldn't help but let a loose a small chuckle at her attempt to not acknowledge the situation. Klaus walked into the kitchen to pull down the mixing bowl Caroline was trying to reach but failed to do so. He made sure to stand right behind to let her feel him pressing up against the warmth of her back. It was just to tease a little unable to help himself after the show she had just given him. Caroline still refused to open her mouth, knowing her voice would betray her and she would make a fool of herself more than she already had.

"Pink, Caroline? I would have imagined you'd prefer black," he chortled into her ear as he stepped back from her and the counter.

Caroline groaned, leaning against the counter dropping her face into her hands.

"God, kill me now," she moaned out. There was no way in hell; Klaus was ever going to let her live this down.


	19. You Don't Even Compare

**Reader request from tumblr: Klaus defends Caroline from Elena.**

The splintered front door of her childhood home stopped Elena dead in her tracks, flinging her arms out to stop Jeremy from stepping further. Damon was right by her side and sensed the distress in her rigid body. Both men froze at the sight of the door and then peering through the windows surveyed the utter destruction of the furniture inside. Elena turned to Damon with a confused frown, "I don't hear any heartbeats."

Damon frowned listening and slowly waling up the front step in front of Elena. "You wouldn't, they're all vampires but I hear Klausy breathing."

"Caroline and Tyler are supposed to be here, what's going on?" Elena muttered, without stopping she burst into the house calling out to Caroline.

Damon sped after her, leaving Jeremy to trail behind, leaping up the steps with his human speed. Both men froze when the saw Elena standing frozen in the kitchen, pulling a wooden stake out of her stomach. Klaus was still trapped in his invisible cage the room around was laid to waste, everything in shambles and piles of sawdust. He was gripping tightly to a wooden stake in his hand, seething with his fangs protruding his enraged expression fixated on the trio standing before them.

Klaus glared at the dumbstruck frowns of the Gilberts and Damon wishing he could push past his invisible prison and rip their undeserving hearts from theirs chest and watch the blood pool on the ground. He had spent the last three days imagining all the ways he could bring out their demises each concocted image more gruesome than the last. It was entirely their fault for the position they were in on and he had no qualms with reminding them exactly of that.

"Enjoy your little quest?" he spit out, the red in his eyes scaring all of them.

"Where's Blondie?" Damon countered. He stepped cautiously in front of Elena, pushing her back when she protested.

Klaus sneered, "Now you care for her? How deliciously rich coming from you Salvatore."

Elena froze instantly but then brushed past Damon to stand up against the barrier, "What did you do with Caroline?"

Klaus roared at the statement, the sound filling the room with anguish and hatred. He felt bile push up in his throat at the audacity of Elena; he had never hated the doppelganger more than this moment. The vain and pretentious little girl was nothing more than a blight upon his life and the instant the barrier dropped he would gladly devote the rest of his eternity to hunting her down. He paused, he give her a head start just so he could least have the promise of a hunt.

Ignoring their questions, he lowered the stake in his hands and began pacing the room tossing the stake back and forth. "Tell me loves, did you think for one second while you were gone about the well being of Caroline? Or did you just assume that she would be safe in the presence of the big bad wolf?"

Elena's eyes widened and she zoomed back into the safety of Damon's arms, suddenly very frightened where this conversation was going. Klaus smirked at seeing her squirm uncomfortably under his piercing questions. A slight satisfaction sated his wild beast, driving him to obtain more control and power over the situation.

"Better yet did you think for one moment about the consequences of your selfish actions on the people around you, or were you too consumed with your own need to find if your love was true to think about others?" Klaus went on goading the trembling girl.

Damon snapped, "Hey, that's uncalled for! Elena's been nothing but a friend to Caroline." The vampire's eyes were glinting just as black as Klaus' the veins in his eyes starting to crinkle and appear. Klaus let out a laugh, "So you do know her name."

Damon snarled his own fangs completely dropped now, Klaus just scoffed at the action with a condescending brow. "You would gladly whore out her services to keep me at bay just to save your own skin."

Elena squeaked at the statement, stuttering out excuses but unable to form any real cohesive words. Tears began to prick at her eyes as truth dawned on her and she snapped back furious. "You killed her, you bastard!"

The wooden stake flew past Elena, the dangerous speed slicing a section of her long brown hair. Elena froze watching the hair fall to the floor and turned to see the stake embedded into the staircase behind her. Damon and Jeremy both jumped against the barrier furious. Klaus stepped up against as well the power and authority of a thousand years of walking the earth and unadulterated rage making them cower back under the intensity.

Eyes never leaving Damon and Jeremy, he spoke to Elena in a deathly tone, "I would never harm a single golden hair of her head let alone rob her of the beauty of life."

The finality of his words hit Elena in the face, snapping her from her petrified state. A sense of dread filled her and she gazed past him into the room and saw lying on the couch the mummified body of Caroline, her face gray and eyes closed. Elena wondered why she didn't smell the unsettling odor of decay earlier. Off to the side by Kol's body was the also equally dead body of Tyler, a stake jutting from his chest.

Klaus sneered at Elena finally grasping the situation. "You quest for the cure left Caroline open to attack from every other vampire hunter out there. She came running here concerned for my safety, her compassion overriding the obvious danger."

Elena started crying trying to step forward but Klaus cut her off. "You are not worthy of speaking her name, none of you are."

"But she's my friend!" she protested, tears falling down her face.

Klaus wanted to reach out and squeeze her throat until the shrill voice for once just shut up. Her statement grated the wrong way, his patience finally breaking.

"You aren't her friend, but nothing more than a common tart using the people around you to get what you want. You don't even compare to the person Caroline was and you never will be."

Damon recovered from everything let himself casually lean up against the entryway into the room, letting his coolness calm Elena. "Don't flatter yourself; Barbie was never to going to go for you."

"SHE DIED SCREAMING FOR ME!" Klaus roared his angry consuming him, the shouting so raw the veins in his face protruded and threatened to burst under the strain. They hadn't been there for the three days to see Caroline hold him as he cried for his brother or the gentle kisses she had laid on his lips, or the promise to run away with him away from all the death and chaos.

Klaus was done with them, but he couldn't help but he grateful Caroline wouldn't be there to see him drain the life from them. Their stunned silence and fumbling about was the only sound in the room. Klaus ignored them and went back to the couch where Caroline was lying in eternal sleep. Touching the faded tresses he could only think of how she was the image of perfection truly beautiful, more than her friends ever thought she was.


	20. The Choice

**_Anon request from tumblr: Klaus and Caroline have the cure and question if they will take it._**

It rested there in the open palm of Klaus' outstretched hand, so innocent and harmless. If only it was known the hundreds of thousands of humans and vampires that died for it. A small crystal vial with dark liquid, the infamous cure that had torn apart the friendships and families of Mystic Falls' residents was now sitting waiting for Caroline in Klaus' hand, his face unreadable. Klaus eyed the blonde with great trepidation unsure what she was going to do, he knew his choice is was never a question in his mind. He was going to destroy the cure and never let it be in the hands of others to use against him.

The only exception would be for her, if she wanted to take he would let her. His baser emotions were telling him to eliminate the threat, keep her immortal because he was selfish in that regard. But the way she kept quiet this entire ordeal gave him pause; no one had ever asked what she wanted. He had been afraid to ask, fearful the answer that would fall from her lips would be the one he so desperately did not want to hear. This was Caroline, she wanted the human life with the white picket fence and ideal family, and he knew what her answer would be. She and her dog would run off and have the life they wanted.

Klaus genuinely thought that the past couple weeks had changed her though. She had fallen away from Tyler, resulting in the mutt running away. In fear of losing her friends she and Stefan had come to him and in that time Klaus had never been happier. The light he enjoyed so much danced in her eyes just for him, the lingering looks, and unnecessary excuses to touch had been addicting. Klaus had been a fish out of water, awkward with her because deep down handling a woman with respect was unknown to him but something he wanted.

So he would offer her the chance to live just like he had all those nights ago when she lay beneath him dying of a wound that he would be forever ashamed of and grateful for. Reaching out with his other hand, he enclosed her shaking fingers and held them. Tearing her eyes from cure she upturned them to his lifeless ones. Keeping his face perfectly emotionless he could not stop the flicker of vulnerability in his eyes, "I could let you, if that's what you want."

Caroline's eyes widened at his statement, the choice words so nearly like the ones he had said so long ago even spoken with the same severity. She drew a sharp gasp of breath and held her eyes there searching for something in his but she didn't know what. A choice, he was giving her a chance to make her own mind about the rest of her life; something that had been robbed of her. Tugging on her captured hand, he let it lose as if were a burning ember, his face crestfallen.

Digging her hands into her pockets, she stepped back from him and watched him clench the vial. "I need to go take a walk-I'll come back," she stuttered out.

Abruptly turning away from him, Caroline hurried off along the rocky coast line to gather her thoughts. Deep gasping breaths came out in pants realizing that of all the people, Klaus was giving her a choice. She had been sure that he would never let her see the cure, let alone offer it to her. It had always been about Elena and getting it for her, then Stefan wanting in for Rebekah, and then Tyler wanting it so he would never be associated with Klaus again. Tyler never once asked her what she wanted; it was just assumed Caroline would take it.

Caroline aimlessly wandered until she reached a point of the coastline, stepping to the edge of the cliff and looking down into the rocks and violent waves of the cold Arctic waters below. The wind furled in the air dancing through her loose waves whirling about her head and kissing her face with harshness. She closed her eyes listening to the pounding of the water on the rocks scold the rambunctious wind their voices the only sounds she could hear and they let her drown in her thoughts.

Teetering on the edge of the cliff she rocked back and forth, trying to sort her tumultuous thoughts. Klaus was so infuriating, he kill without thought in retaliation, he was broken on the inside, made her feel safe when others ran away. Now when everyone pushed for her to become human again he stood there waiting for her to choose her own life. Why did he have to be so confusing? She didn't know what she wanted to do anymore, the plan had been to take it, be with Tyler, and bury the feelings Klaus ignited in her.

Now she was unsure, his small act of kindness rocking her world. As a human Caroline was neurotic and insecure, nothing more than a plaything for Damon and a pawn for Katherine. As a vampire she had been in control of her life something she needed to be, she was confident with herself, there was just the problem of being a monster of nightmares. Live a life where she'd be normal until some death stole her away or live a life where she could eventually explore it all? It was single most confusing question of her existence.

The wind rushed by causing Caroline to draw her coat closer around her, not that she felt it but the muscle memory was automatic. The wind brushing past carried a familiar scent, his scent. She attempted to turn her head to see him but the wind had other plans for her, covering her face with her curls. Klaus' warm hands helped her as she tried to hold back the gold wave, growling in annoyance. Finally grasping the hair, she held it in place and looked at him, the mirth in his eyes falling into lifelessness again.

"May I have it please?" Caroline asked holding out her hand.

Klaus' face lost all control, down trodden. He really had hoped she wouldn't take it. He stood in his black coat buttoned up, unable to follow through with her request. Caroline's face was stern, "Klaus, seriously, hand over."

The ice in his heart spread to his extremities, fine if this was the way she wanted to throw away her existence so be it. Furrowing his brows he stiffly pulled the blasted vial out of his pocket and dropped it into her outstretched hand. He would give her death sentence but he wouldn't watch it be carried out. He attempted to walk away her but Caroline's small hand grabbed his arm in a steely grip.

She wouldn't let him go, the pain on his face evident from the choice she was making. Choosing a mortal life meant there would never be a chance for him, mortality meant Tyler. Caroline vaguely realized there was a tear sliding down her face but she remained focused on the task at end. Dropping the vial to the ground Caroline crunched it under the heel of her boot, the liquid seeping into the cold earth under her feet.

The incredulous look on Klaus' face made her smile from ear to ear. His lips parted as small breath left his full lips with unshed tears in his eyes, the finality of her action sinking in. Caroline let her hand slide down his arm and slip it into his hand, their fingers entwining. Staring at their clasped hands for a minute she rejoiced in the wonderful feeling of security and warmth.

"Too many have died for this; I refuse to be the next one. You gave me the choice and I made mine," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Klaus stared unmoving before grabbing her and crushing her into his arms, overcome with an emotion he didn't know that only she seemed to spark in him. She had chosen immortality, she had chosen him.


	21. Four Lettered Word

**4x13 Reaction Drabble set immediately after Klaus heals Caroline**

Fear was the only word that Klaus could comprehend at the moment. After drinking her fill of his blood to dispel the damage of his bite, Tyler returned to spirit Caroline away. No words were exchanged after Caroline's piercing insight; though the room sizzled with the intensity of the emotions they privately shared. Even Tyler noticed something was different between the two of them, his lips pursed in obvious distaste as the victory of forcing Klaus to bend was lost.

Now Klaus was resting on the very spot his blonde vampire occupied just before, wanting to be close to her scent. He rolled onto his back to let his gaze drift towards the ceiling emotional exhaustion of past couple hours finally taking its toll. Caroline had said he was in love with her. Was that truly possible?

Love was a vampire's weakness, it was why he knew she had to die and earlier he was going to let her. She could not be a distraction for him, it created too much unknown. Additionally, Tyler needed to be reminded of who the real alpha was, since the dog was incapable of leaving sleeping dragons in peace. Klaus was willing to let it be at peace with the boy, his mother for Kol. It was a good and honorable deal until Caroline stirred him up in anger, informing him exactly how alone he truly was. His natural reaction was to lash out to protect himself so he did and she paid the price.

A single tear gathered in his eye again, he thought they had all gone. Never had a woman in his entire life created such turmoil within him. The strings of his heart were incapable of understanding which emotions were playing. He attributed the emotions to fear, they were close enough. It must be the fear that someone was getting to close to the core of the defenses he carefully constructed. Strangely though he wanted nothing more than Caroline to accept him and that desire grew the more he saw her.

Was that love? He did not know what love was. All he knew was he wanted to see the light of her eyes dancing happily again as the day they laughed over beauty pageant and the simple days of her human life. Letting lose a heavy sigh he turned back to his side and breathed in the soft smell of her lingering scent. The sweet smell stopped the flurry of emotions clawing at his black heart. Exhausted his eyes drifted shut and the four lettered word taunting his mind. Perhaps tomorrow he could start to understand what it meant.


	22. One Day

**Drabble request from reader on tumblr. Klaus tells Caroline he won't be her second choice. **

He was sitting in the chair, lost in the dying flames ignoring her presence. Caroline knew that he realized she was there his back stiffing when she entered the darkened room. But he was too hurt to acknowledge her any further. Another tear rolled down her already stained face as Caroline gently lay down a small slip of paper down on a nearby bureau. Gazing once more at the man in the chair she watched him bring a glass to his lips, drowning himself in the silent friend of alcohol.

Caroline felt her heart rend further than it already was, ashamed of her actions of earlier. Perhaps one day he would forgive her but right now they both were too broken inside to let themselves love each other. Peering closer at him she could see the strain of emotion on his face, the tight line of his profile both achingly beautiful and pained. The soft click of her heels alerted Caroline that she instinctively had taken a step towards him, her hand reaching out of its own accord.

Shaking her head, she dropped her hand and headed back towards the door she came from. Reaching the antique door she paused, the wave of grief gripping her. She opened her mouth to speak an ugly inhuman sound escaping instead, her voice betraying the repressed emotions of her heart. Choking the sound back down Caroline collected herself refusing to cry anymore.

"Good-bye," she whispered to the air.

Klaus had heard her every movement but dared not turn around until her scent left the room. The fire was finally dead and the room dark, the pale moonlight peaking through the windows. Dragging himself from his cramped position Klaus walked over to the bureau where Caroline laid a note on hours earlier. It was nothing more than a slip of paper but her scent hung heavily on it invading him with a fresh reminder of their conversation earlier.

Three weeks had gone by since that fateful night in the Gilbert home when everything changed. Three weeks of agonizing hell of trying to understand exactly what Caroline meant and the violate emotions of his heart when it came to her. He despised it all-the emotions costing him his control but he was unable to stop their flood. The mere mention of her name would create a strange pattering in the remains of his soul.

At first he wondered if she even remembered their conversation, if she was just saying it all to manipulate him or if it was a side effect of the hallucinations at her. Either way it was obvious she was conflicted as much as he was but she was unable to leave the side of her knight in shining armor. The sight sickened him, insatiable red fury clouding his mind. The more it went on it was clear his first hybrid recognized that Caroline was torn so he left.

Klaus was relieved and annoyed then when Caroline turned up on his door step but he let her in anyway. It wasn't until after many shots of Klaus' best liquor and a heated kiss that he realized why he was annoyed.

"I won't be your second choice Caroline," he snarled ignoring the wonderful bliss of her lips.

Caroline gaped at him, her fingers still pressed against her tingling lips from the heat of his. Her elation over finally tasting him gone, leaving a bitter taste with a cold frown gracing her swollen lips.

"You're not," she gritted out; arms crossed her chest clenching each other in frustration.

Klaus laughed, "Don't be naive; we both know that you are only here because you are lonely."

Her eyebrows flew into her hairline and she scrambled backwards from his comforting arms. But Klaus' tirade continued, "You are not Elena; do not stoop to her level by playing Tyler and I. I am not the Salvatores. If you come to me, I will be your only choice not a rebound or a project to save. I deserve that respect and chance."

He wanted her more than anything in the world but he wanted her completely not an itch she had to scratch. Caroline glared at him trying to rebuttal but found herself unable to so. Every word sliced through her very soul the truth to haunt her to her end. His words hurt more than he knew, using the very line she found herself believing so often about herself.

"I hate you," she cried in desperation trying to pull the pain into anger against him.

Klaus smirked, "No, sweetheart you don't and that is what makes this all the more tragic. We want to hate each other but are incapable of doing so. We will be forever linked you and I."

Caroline wanted to smack the smugness off his face but she would be lying because he was exactly right. He was so infuriating that way. She did like him, how much she didn't know but it was getting harder to deny. So instead she stomped her foot in a tantrum which led Klaus to smirk even further before dropping his lips into a tight line.

"You need to leave now," he coldly stated turning his back from her.

Klaus walked over to the fireplace to start a fire to drive the chill that settled over the room. When the flames at last roared to life and he turned back around Caroline was still standing there with arms crossed and unshed tears welling in her bright blue eyes. The broken girl before him made Klaus want to take back his words but he wanted this to be real too much.

Eying her with all the determination he possessed she finally huffed and stormed from the room, slamming the door in the process. Klaus pretended that he couldn't hear Caroline's tears.

A growl rose from his chest, that had been hours ago. He was left in an empty house, in a black room with a slip of paper that was to be the only reminder that she had been in the house earlier. Drifting closer to the window Klaus held the paper up to see Caroline's neat script-_one day_ it read. Klaus scoffed crumpling the paper, walking back to the fireplace to toss it there.

Just as he was about to dispose of her good-bye promise he stopped. Maybe she meant it and it wasn't a platitude to soothe him. Either way Klaus found himself wishing for that _one day_, hoping it would be sooner than later.

* * *

**By the way readers if you ever have any desire to have a particular drabble written just leave me message or request the prompt in the reviews section. I promise to write just about anything...except hardcore smut. Too many other talented people out there to write that. **


	23. Dance with Me

**Written for the Klaroline Secret Valentine Campaign for vampirbarbiecare on tumblr. Klaus and Caroline dance on Valentine's day. **

"Dance with me," he whispered as he held out his hand.

Caroline stared at the proffered hand as the beats of the spicy song filled the room. She held her breath because she shouldn't want to dance with him but at the moment it was all she could think of. Between the trance of the music and the mischief in his eyes she couldn't help herself. One dance couldn't hurt, right? She could tease him with touches but never give in completely. Ignoring disgusted frowns of her friends around the room she cautiously took his hand, refusing to acknowledge the feeling of home she felt anytime her slender fingers slipped into his.

Klaus spun her around holding her back to his front, his hand possessively splayed across her stomach. Their bodies rolled in perfect harmony with the music and each other, their hips creating delicious friction that made her dizzy with need. Caroline instantly forgot about everyone else in the room, her only thoughts were Klaus and the dance. Her lips parted a fraction as his lips ghosted over the bare skin of her shoulder and she had to bite down to repress a moan.

Much to his delight he could see her breasts heave against the fabric of her silk dress, taunting him with their shape and plumpness but remaining hidden. It was a wonderful stroke to his ego to know that he was the one causing these reactions. To control himself from racing her out of the room and ripping the dress off to reveal the teasing breasts, he slid his hands from her stomach to her hips holding the perfect curves to anchor him. The plan backfired when Caroline reached down placing her hands on top of his letting her hips sashay in perfect time with the music. The sinful sway of her hips created a seductive melody, Klaus growling into her ear as each twist of her hips brushed across his pelvis pressing just right against his growing erection.

Caroline spun out of his heat letting the cool air wash over them and quirked her lips into a smirk knowing exactly what she were doing. It was a little game; touch but only just enough to drive the other mad. After all they were in public, in the middle of the gym where the Scooby gang watched from the sidelines. Klaus gave a wolfish grin, two could play that game and he was the master of the hunt.

He guided her through quick fiery steps, his gaze never leaving her eyes completely penetrating into her soul and trapping her in his hold. Caroline shivered under the intensity, unable to tear away from the seductive pull. Finding strength to turn away she pulled herself back from the heat of his body and sent a kick into the air displaying the grace and skill of a cheerleader. Gliding back in time with the music, she hooked her leg over his waist and he slid his hand down her back to press her just a little more into him. He spun them around together her core against his manhood with tight friction between them.

She had hoped the friction would provide relief but it only built up more steam and she let out a little huff of frustration to which Klaus responded by bending his face closer to hers . Klaus allowed his lips to rest just above hers tempting her. Caroline didn't want to give him the pleasure yet, this supposed to be a tease. Twinkling her eyes, she arched backwards with her leg still hooked over his hip, forcing Klaus to move his hand upwards to support her back.

Possessively he dragged a hand up her chest, the sight of her hardened nipples beneath the silk too much to handle. As he passed through the valley of her breasts he let his fingers ghost over her nipples achieving his goal of finally touching them. Caroline let out a hollow moan, her legs almost crumpling under the light touch. But Klaus simply brought her back up and dropped her leg. They flowed effortlessly in a flurry of steps, the passionate movements lulling them with the drunkenness of flesh.

Klaus once again twisted her back to his front and Caroline grabbed his hands and linked them with hers. Then in agonizing slowness she dragged their combined hands down the length of her body giving him the opportunity to feel every inch of her. Their combined trail explored her until his hand rested low on her hips fingers just inches away from the source of the arousal the dance seared into her. But she wouldn't let him touch her and quickly released his hands. Klaus felt himself involuntarily buck against her and heard Caroline smirk in satisfaction.

But their twisting dance did not continue for long, the song coming to a close leaving them both pressed against each other panting heavily and other people standing around them watching in amazement at the passionate display. When Caroline noticed the silence around them she finally broke eye contact and turned her head to see her friends standing with shocked looks, jaws open. Caroline glanced back to Klaus and licked her lips, hot and flustered from their dance. He seemed to be just as flustered but recovered quicker. Stepping away from her he gave a small nod of his head accompanied with a smug grin and turned towards the door.

As she stood there without him, her whole body trembled from the passionate dance and the throbbing ache between her legs was impossible to ignore. Caroline all but collapsed her body too wound up to support itself. Suddenly she was furious that he sparked a fire but was unwilling to take care of it. She refused that it was because he had beat her at her own game finding she didn't care about teasing anymore.

She was going to be consumed in sexual frustration if she didn't go after him. If he made her feel this way with her clothes on, then she was going to be addicted to the feel of him in her. Quickly spinning on her heel she strode after him not heeding the calls of her friends. He had already disappeared out of the building and into the starry night.

Speeding up to catch him, she flashed in front of him slamming a hand onto his chest to halt his progress.

"You don't get to dance with me like that and not except me to come after you," she hissed at him.

Klaus chuckled darkly his face splitting into a cocky grin. "I knew exactly what I was doing, love. After all how could I get you away from them on Valentine's Day? Weren't they supposed to be nursing the broken heart you have over Tyler?"

Caroline rolled her eyes at the jab. "You better finish what you started," she demanded.

A warm hand snaked around her back bringing her flush against him; his body had not forgotten their dance. She gasped slightly feeling his hard length pressed against her stomach and the dark look his eyes took on. Klaus leaned into her just slightly and held himself there, forcing Caroline to lean the rest of the way into him. Just when she thought she would finally be able to press her lips against his full raspberry ones he shifted his head to her ear and his blonde stubble tickled the side of her face.

"I will never finish with you Caroline." He promised leaving her panting at the depth of the words.

She all but melted; this was definitely going to be the best Valentine's Day.


	24. On the Steps of Notre Dame

**A human Caroline meets her fate on the cold stone steps of Notre Dame de Paris by the hands of the monster of the night.**

She raced through the snowed covered streets the moonlight reflecting off it to provide her world with an eerie illumination for the quiet night. The only sound as she fumbled through the streets was the frantic slap of her feet crunching in the fresh snow and the heavy panting of her lungs.

Caroline was almost there; she could see the cathedral growing closer. He could not follow in there surely, he was a monster and that was a house of God. It could not be tainted by the devil. Her salvation was meters from her, the massive wooden door of Norte Dame looming over the skyline.

Reaching the door, Caroline banged on the door of the ancient building screaming for the bishop, or anyone else to let her in. The door was locked; it is well into the early hours of the bleak winter morning. A dark chuckle echoed behind her, fear freezing her heart at the recognition of the devil hunting her down.

"What's this a little blonde angel come to beg her Lord to save her?" he mocked her.

Caroline closed her eyes, no one was going to save her, no sounds of the bishop or priests moved towards the door, no one would give her sanctuary. It was a mistake to close her eyes thick darkness creeping in and stilling her human heart.

Gathering her courage she flashed open her eyes blue flames lighting the darkness cast by Lord Niklaus, the monster towering over her frame, pressing her lithe body against the door.

"You are not my Lord." She spat out glaring into his cold mask focusing on him being a monster not the most handsome man who ever spoke to her.

A smirk broke across his face, his own blue eyes dancing in mirth, "No, but you will call for him in the last moments."

"I will not beg for death," Caroline retorted. She had one last hope, a small knife her father entrusted to her years ago.

Niklaus leaned in closer brushing his mouth down pale skin of her slender neck eliciting a shiver from Caroline. Caroline felt her body betraying her, the intimate touch of the beast quickening the pulse of her weak heart.

Fumbling around in the folds of her skirt she finally strayed across cold iron. Letting Niklaus continue his caresses on her neck and the searing kisses on her collarbone she flashed the small blade as fast as she could at his neck, sinking it into his skin.

A grunt of pain wrenched Niklaus back, blood pouring forth from the wound staining his neck and the collar of his shirt. Caroline widened her eyes, horrified that he was still standing. The horror melted to dread as Niklaus simply pulled the small blade from his neck, his blood escaping from the wound at an alarming rate, staining the snow and the stone steps Caroline tried to find refuge on.

"That's not possible," she cried, furious that her attempt failed.

Klaus chuckled maliciously, "You shouldn't have done that sweetheart."

Caroline watched in morbid fascination to see his skin piece together by some strange witchcraft. Klaus rolled his neck back and forth, faint popping sounds echoing in the bitter night. Stalking into Caroline she pressed herself against the door, desperately trying to melt into the door and calm the frantic pattern of her heartbeat.

Pain flashed across her body, Niklaus sinking his fangs into her neck, draining her of the precious liquid needed for life. Caroline felt herself grow dizzy looking out into the churchyard square, unable to move. Niklaus was pressed against her, his fiery body counteracting the numbness spreading as her heart slowed. Caroline never whimpered under the deadly touch of the dark Lord of the night, her light staying on the steps of Notre Dame long after her empty body was abandoned by the vampire who stole her soul.


	25. The Death of Childhood

**4x14 reaction drabble and anon request: Caroline realizes something after Klaus tells her all his actions that day were for her. **

Caroline stared blankly into warm night from her stilled position on the Gilbert porch. It might be southern Virginia and that meant temperate winters but all the cold of the Arctic chilled her veins as she tried to process what just happened to her.

Why did his words hold such power over her? "It was all for you, Caroline," he had said. Maybe it was the honesty in his eyes or the utter understanding that he meant every word. God, why did he have to say such things! Why did he make it so difficult to try and refuse him? She breathed in deeply, realizing her hands were shaking and her knees were starting to buckle, there was too much emotion drowning her heart to find a life raft to anchor herself.

An ugly sob escaped her throat as she tried to bring her hands to her face as everything from the day imploded in on itself. Her whole body was shaking as she sank into the swinging bench behind her, once again alone. No one was there to help her when she needed guidance the most.

She wanted Tyler back already or did she? Why didn't she offer to go with him? Wasn't that what young couples in love did? A creeping feeling was sitting there in the pit of her stomach taunting her. The demon crawled up her throat leaving guilt in its wake, the tiny voice entering her mind and whispering the darkest secrets of her heart.

She didn't want to go with Tyler. Caroline wanted him safe but she couldn't go with him. It was the single most guilty thought eating away at her all day but if she was honest the thought had been there much longer. Sobs wracked her body, gripping the armrest of the bench she squeezed until needle pricks of splinters stabbed the palm of her hand in an attempt to counteract the numbness her heart was trying to fight. Something had changed within her, something in her died.

Klaus' words mulled over in her mind, he had seen more clearly into her heart than anyone had in her entire life today and that thrilled and terrified her. The entire day was a profession of the depth of his emotions for her and they both knew it but Caroline wasn't sure she wanted to feel it yet.

The pride on his face when Caroline clearly recognized what the sword was and the accompanying smirk made her insides soar. Someone had recognized her intellect and didn't question it. Maybe it was vain and definitely ego stroking but she didn't care, it made her work harder on the translation just to see the look on his face again.

Part of her desperately wished Klaus would have granted Tyler life, but the rational part of her brain knew it wasn't going to happen. At least now Tyler had the chance to live somewhere and find someone to be happy with. He could never find that happiness with Caroline and she knew it, the past year had changed them too much and that was why she was sitting on the bench with tears staining her jacket because her childhood had gone with him.

Tyler was everything that was safe about her life, her last chance at the fleeting dream of southern perfection. A dream that ended before it began when Katherine held the pillow over Caroline's face to send a message. Klaus was steadily taking root in her heart and place they both knew at one point he would find permanent residence within.

Today had shown it, Klaus could have spent the whole day watching them struggle to translate the sword and lord it over their heads. Instead he helped them and willingly gave them the reason why he wanted the cure. Certainly he taunted Tyler about the power he held over him but that was a core part of Klaus, the display of power and that would never change.

But the action that capture her heart the most was their honest exchange as she pleaded for Tyler's life. She wondered if the impact of his words were as deeply penetrating as hers had been the night before. His assessment of her character had certainly rocked her. He had seen right through her and asked her the one question that no one bothered to ask and before she could answer, knew her response.

Never had anyone been able to see past her defenses so quickly much like she could she past his. The terrifying feeling was she wanted that, she wanted someone to know her like that and the guilty demon whispered that it knew she wanted that someone to be him.

That was why when he said "It was all for you, Caroline." she couldn't respond to him because it was an awakening to the fact one day she would love him just as much as he loved her. Her deepest fear was abated by his actions; he had put her first above everything today. The future and inevitably her happiness lay with him.

Today had been the demise of her childhood; the world was new and frightening again because the road with Klaus would never be one without turmoil. Caroline sniffed back tears, standing up and tentatively taking steps into the dark night towards her own home. She needed to grieve for the loss of her childhood but in every death new life is born. Her journey to womanhood was born with that one line from Klaus and part of her couldn't wait for that new life to begin.


	26. True Vampires

**Klaus and Caroline share a bloody mess **

Klaus bent over Caroline dreaming away under the covers of her bed. He had to show her what their life could be like; she had to understand that he needed her. She was no longer something he could ignore, he tried to let her die but something stopped him. Now she needed to see how much these emotions ran his life amuck. Gently Klaus sat on the edge of the bed, trying not to wake her.

Caroline shifted in her sleep rolling towards him, her hands brushing against his thighs. Klaus smirked seeing her face quirk into a small smile not breaking from her dreams as she breathed in deeply no doubt taking in his smell. She sighed softly in her sleep, clenching the sheets as a sweet smell drifted upwards to Klaus from the apex of her legs. His breath hitched, a large wolfish grin brightening his face realizing when Caroline was relaxed the mere smell of him spiked arousal in her.

His eyes twinkled as he thought of another dream to give her instead of the trip to Paris like he planned. Shifting closer he leaned out a hand to her right temple, cupping the side of her face and easing himself into her subconscious. Klaus began sending images of slow hands kneading every inch of her skin with heated kisses trailing down her neck and on down her body to places he had not had the privilege of witnessing yet.

Soon Caroline was writhing in the sheets and at his mercy, her mind being deliciously tortured by his imaginations. Gold curls tossed back and forth as she tried to grasp on anything to anchor her to, trying to fight for control in the dream. Klaus only smiled knowing he was in complete control.

His own body was responding, his pants becoming painfully tight at the vision of beauty in front of him, her whole body shivering at his mental caress. Her scent was overpowering him and Klaus fought to keep his body in control, weeks of pent up desire crumbling his fortifications.

No longer able to take the images flowing from him into her and the sight of her breasts pressing against the thin tank top Klaus reached over to touch her flushed skin. The heat radiating off her urged him further, to let himself enjoy her flawless. Just as he reached the swell of her breasts a sound pegged off the front door. Klaus twitched his ears, the blackness in his eyes switching from desire to feral hatred in less than a second.

Closing his eyes he slowed the pounding in his heart and willed his already engorged member to still itself. He breathed in deeply and morphed into the perfect predator as a multitude of heartbeats thumped wildly outside the house. Caroline moaned in her sleep, her face crinkling as the heated dream she was in progress of stopped. Klaus flicked his eyes open and in one swift movement shook her awake, placing a hand over her mouth.

Caroline, disoriented and upset from her sleep burned her eyes into his attempting to call out. Klaus simply held a finger up to his lips and then pointed to his ears. Caroline furrowed her brow her face still flushed pink from her dream. Klaus then saw her eyes widened in surprise and a hint of fear; he realized she must have heard the noises and human heartbeats that had them surrounded. Seeing her recognition of what was going on and that fear turn to anger, Klaus dropped his hand from her lips.

"What is going on?" she hissed, barely audible.

Klaus shot her a furious look, unsure himself. He didn't know of anyone who had gotten the slip on him unless somehow the hunter from the island Rebekah talked about had friends in Virginia. He was not in the mood to deal with people who thought they could attack him. His blood pumped in boiling rage understanding that the people were here for Caroline not him, they most likely didn't know the most powerful supernatural being was waiting for them inside the Forbes' home. Caroline was crawling out of bed, not making a sound as her feet stepped on the floor revealing her nightwear.

She padded over the floor, the only clothing the blue cami and matching lace boy shorts, the firm curve of her behind teasing him as she walked over to the window. A distinct click of metal sounded outside, the sounds of wooden bullets sliding into the deadly chambers of guns ready to fire. Klaus used all his speed to reach Caroline when in chorus clicks of the guns fired and struck the window. Glass shattered into the room, riddling shards across the room as loud thumps of grenades thumped into the room after another chorus of bullets.

Klaus already shoved Caroline under the bed away from the damage all her possessions being destroyed, his fangs bared ready to hunt his prey. The grenades went off with wooden spikes and vervain filling the room and voices shouting in tandem. The vile mist burned exposed skin but Klaus could care less, the pain not stopping him from ripping the head off the first person who entered the room.

Roaring from the blood entering the air, feral need kicked in as Klaus threw the head out the window with gruesome pleasure. He meant it as warning to the others that the baby vampire they all expected was the not the supernatural they were going to get. He grinned when he heard them press further into the house, he needed a good kill. Chest panting Klaus zoomed through the house ripping throats out at a leisurely pace drinking his fill from some and just tearing guts out of others.

It was exhilarating and freeing the power and metallic flavor everywhere around him. Klaus could feel the redness cling to his face with each kill, certain his chin and neck were drenched. He stood in the center of the living room death coming to collect the bodies around him, high on the feeling. His high was broken by a feral cry in Caroline's room. It was a siren's call, full of vampiric strength and power.

Klaus blurred to the room to see Caroline kneeing a man in the chest his body bending forward in pain-the knee broke ribs. She grabbed his neck and twisted it one swift breath, he crumpled him to the floor in instant death. The man joined a couple others lying on the ground all equally dead and a few drained. Klaus smirked impressed at Caroline's prowess; she always was one of the most powerful baby vampires he had known.

A small hiss of pain escaped her lips, Klaus circling round to her front noticed he hadn't shielded her from all the wooden bullets, some had found home in her stomach. Caroline was furiously digging at them trying to reach but the pain too great, her cami now stained dark purple. She glanced up to Klaus finally and his whole body ignited again, blood smeared across her lips and tiny specks of the crimson liquid splattered on her face. It was an instant turn on for him, blood the best aphrodisiac.

"That was disgusting," she mumbled trying to push down the guilt about killing four people.

Klaus just stood there unsure what to say, if he could say anything. First there had been panic about her getting hurt but this was Caroline, he should have known better. She could hold her own and the four people lying on the ground were proof. Her face contorted into pain again, the wood bullets still embedded without a second thought, Klaus reached over and tore the cami from her the fabric no longer blocking the wounds.

"This is going to hurt Caroline."

Without any other warning he thrust his fingers into her stomach and yanked out the offending objects and tossed them away with disdain. Caroline gasped and lurched forward grabbing onto his stained jacket, the wounds steadily knitting together to leave behind flawless skin adorned with red. The danger now passed Caroline attempted to pull herself back from his grasp but Klaus had no desire to let her go.

They were both so focused on the bullets that her undressed state didn't register. Caroline stood in Klaus' arms with nothing but a swatch blue lace about her hips, her chest completely exposed to him. She flushed red at the recognition but Klaus wouldn't let her pull away instead pulled her flush against him. Every curve was pressed perfectly and the sensation of her breasts got his blooding plumping faster. The spell of her surrounded by blood and power over death was glorious, a bloody goddess and an equal.

"Klaus," she whispered lowly almost a moan.

Her eyes flickered up to his her eyes glowing dark, she was as caught up in the spell just as he was. It was enough to send Klaus over the edge and he flung her back to her bed, sweeping away the debris that landed there. A growl left Caroline her eyes flashing dangerously black, springing from the bed before Klaus could pounce and shoved him against her wall. The great force turned him on even further the constant surprise of her actions one of the traits he delighted about her.

Her lips slammed onto his with a punishing force, the animals in both of them awake and on the prowl. Klaus ran his tongue over the seam of her lips, Caroline automatically parting her lips to allow him entrance. Twirling her around, he shoved her up against the wall, Caroline jumping up to wrap herself around him. It was a battle of dominance between them, their tongues and mouths not moving fast enough for the other.

Klaus determined her taste was almost as blissful as fresh blood itself. Breaking from her hungry lips he kissed down a trail of blood that flowed down her chest, sucking each tiny morsel of life up, staining his lips. The blood rolled to the tip of her breast, generously coating the soft skin and perky nipple. He lapped up the delicious stream kneading the other breast and eliciting soft moans from Caroline as she clasped her hands in his curly hair. She arched her back against the wall pressing her breast to his mouth in encouragement.

It was an intoxicating spell of blood and flesh as he pressed further south drinking up the blood from her stomach replacing it with heated kisses. Caroline was feverishly twisting about trying to tear his clothes from him. She wretched him upwards once again capturing his lips with hers achieving her goal from ripping the shirt clean off him, his belt and pants following after.

Klaus pulled away from her with a Cheshire grin, this wild side of her was breathtaking. Caroline was already stroking his member, trying her best to get him buck against her to relieve the heat of her core. Klaus pulled back not letting her have the power she wanted over him. He started this with a dream where he had her mewling in blissful pleasure and he was going to ensure she was doing the same before the night was done, just awake this time. They were two animals staking claim on another, drunk on each other, drunk on death, and drunk on blood—true vampires.


	27. We are all Broken

**4x15 Reaction Drabble-Ensemble not Klaroline. Everyone is crying and hurt. **

Rebekah was left on the Island, all of Kol's crazy mutterings taunting her memory. The look of fear in Shane's eyes as he grasped her leg and uttered the warlock's name sent shivers down her spine. The urge to get back home to alert Klaus and Elijah gripped her, frantically digging out her phone praying there was still battery. If half of what Kol said was true she feared for the lives of her brothers.

Matt cried in his truck, unable to be strong for his friends any longer. His oldest friend was no gone, the memory of Jeremy's name on the wall in faded paint being his only beacon of hope. How many of his friends would have to die before this craziness was over?

Elena lay down on the wet asphalt of the street as neighbors began pouring out of their homes to see whose home was burning. All of them nodding their heads and placing hands over their hearts to see little Elena Gilbert too cold to do anything as fire sirens wailed in the background.

Stefan and Damon watched her with great trepidation, unsure if they had made the right choice. Was letting Elena block everything out the best thing to do after losing so much? Would she ever forgive them when it was time for her emotions to flow back into her broken heart? Would that be enough to heal the wounds?

Bonnie and Shane chatted on about who they would pick for their next sacrifice. Thoughts of everyone coming back to her thrilled Bonnie, she finally would have everyone she loved back again. She could happy again. But at the cost of bringing back Mikael or Esther? Even for her that was a bit too much. But Shane said all the right words, silver tongued promises of seeing Jeremy again. Bonnie never noticed the glinting madness in his eyes, when hers glazed over in day dreams of happily ever after.

Caroline cried into her pillow, hurt that Tyler wouldn't call back. She was scared for Elena because her friend that she loved was no longer there. Damon and his stupid self took away her best friend and she didn't know what to do any longer. She clutched tighter onto the pillow, bringing it to her chest. She needed someone to wrap their arms around her and for once let her cry until she could cry no further.

Klaus shoveled out dirt deep in the caverns of Mystic Falls; each shovelful of earth filling his nose with the rich scent of earth. Memories of a lifetime long ago when he earned his life by the sweat of his brow and the strength of his back gave him the drive to press on with his task. A coffin inscribed with the letters of his little brother's name resting to the side. He would bury Kol in the same place Henrik was buried; it would be the last honor he could give.

Silas left Bonnie's house hours later, his lips quirked in a deadly smirk. They were almost completely broken, almost desperate enough for them to come running to him, begging to bring back their loved ones. The supernaturals just needed one more push, one more death, and then he would be able to begin his plan. He would break them all.


	28. Fighter

**This is an anon request from tumblr: AU/AH Klaus realizes Caroline is suffering from some form of PPD/PTSD after the birth of their first child. WARNING: This is about someone struggling with depression. If that is not something you feel comfortable reading about, skip this one-shot please.**

Klaus first noticed something was wrong four weeks after Elise came into their lives. Caroline had a difficult labor and delivery and he knew she was slowly recovering physically but this was something else. Elise was screaming from her little bassinette in the other room, her little wails breaking Klaus from the brief he was preparing. He looked up to Caroline to see her sitting in the bay window looking out at the busy London streets below with a lifeless expression.

Klaus called out, "Caroline, love."

She didn't hear him; at least that's what he assumed. Concern filled him as he rose to go get Elise to soothe her little cries. But as his chair scraped across the wooden floor, Caroline jumped off the cushions.

"The baby is crying! Why didn't you tell me?" she snapped, rushing off into the nursery before Klaus could argue the point.

For the rest of the day, Caroline seemed herself a bright smile and twinkling eyes fooling him. Klaus chalked it up to Caroline being exhausted, having not slept well the night before. She even began humming a little dilly to their daughter when she was fussing later that evening.

But three weeks later, Klaus witnessed the same experience all over again. Except this time he didn't try to alert Caroline's attention, he just picked up Elise and rocked her until her eyelids dropped, falling into a peaceful slumber. The same exact situation happened twice more that day.

"I'm worried about Caroline," he said out of the blue to Stefan a week later. The business partners were sitting at the pub, Klaus nursing his scotch. Most of the hour he just spent listening to Stefan chatter on about wedding plans with Rebekah and not really contributing much to the conversation.

Stefan stopped mid-sentence, slamming his mouth shut. The brooding stare Klaus had grown accustomed to, was etched firmly in his friend's face, a knowing sadness.

"You've noticed too? I thought it was you guys just being new parents. I mean Elise is only about two months old," Stefan said with a heavy sigh.

Klaus shook his head, running his hand through his hair. Stefan was his closest friend, soon to be brother-in-law; he might as well know the truth. "I assumed that was the situation at first but now, I think it is something more."

Stefan gave Klaus a look, taking a deep draught from his cup. Klaus drained his, needing liquid courage. He didn't like sharing such personal matters even with Stefan but he had to talk to someone.

"She sits in the bay window of on the second floor all the time. I call out to her but she never responds and there is a void expression in her eyes. I truly fear she doesn't hear me," Klaus confessed through gritted teeth.

Their love story had not been an easy one, it took three years before they could even say they loved each other and now it felt like they were back to day one. Back to when they would gladly fling pencils at each other from across the room of their Shakespeare class at university. She had known ever answer to the question right away, some preppy American freshman who thought she knew everything there was to know about literature.

It had been Klaus' greatest pleasure to rebuttal her every remark with a snarky comment that tore apart her arguments. The class turned into a battle ground between the two of them about dear William, both equally frustrated at the end. Their professor just sat back and watched the fiery debate, the rest of the class placing bets on who would break first.

It became the trend then, every time lecture would begin Klaus and Caroline would be back at it. It was the highest attended Shakespeare lecture that term, everyone wanted to witness the epic battles between the two blondes. So when one morning Klaus awoke not remembering the night before and a naked Caroline in his bed they were the only two who were surprised.

Now it felt the same way, a punch to the gut of emotions he didn't know how to handle. "I don't know what to do, mate," he told Stefan.

Stefan shook his head as well. For a moment he stared off deep into his glass, before cautiously speaking, "Talk to her, and force her to open up. She is a firecracker who has lost her spark. Do something to ignite the fire again."

It was with those words Klaus decided to press his luck. He wanted his Caroline back, not the shell of the person she was pretending to be. Arriving home that evening he was greeted with a happy smile from her, looking absolutely radiant. She bubbled on about how exciting the day had been, Elise smiling for the first time at her. In their excitement over their parenthood, the advice from Stefan was pushed to the side. Klaus was so happy to see his wife smile in such earnest he had no wish to be the reason for that smile disappearing.

He couldn't help it, if there was one thing he was guilty of that was doing anything to see her smile. Elise kept growing day by day and learning all kinds of new things that the little baby overshadowed all other black spots in their relationship.

The high didn't last for long though; Caroline started once more occupying the bench seat of the bay window once more three months later. It had been going well for so long, Klaus assumed Caroline had recovered and he had been spared the torture of having to ask such probing questions.

So when he came home one night to find Caroline sitting in the same position he left in her that morning, he had enough. He could no longer sit in the shadows and pretend that everything was okay between them. They hadn't had sex in weeks, Caroline always complaining she was too tired or she didn't feel good. She wouldn't let him see her naked anymore and he hated it.

He wanted to scream at her to unleash all his frustration, shock her out of it but he knew that wasn't going to solve the problem. It didn't stop him from slamming the door shut, Caroline not even moving at the sound. Elise did, looking up at her father with a hurt frown from the floor.

Klaus cringed, instantly regretting the fierce action. Bending down to the ground he smiled as his golden haired princess rolled from her back to her tummy, raising her little head to level with him. He couldn't help but grin at the action. Leave it to his innocent child with crystal blue eyes to abate his sorrows and fill him with hope.

Caroline still did not move.

"Love," he called gently from the floor.

Slowly Caroline turned to him; her makeup smeared down her face two dried tear tracks of mascara evidence of her sorrow. Klaus felt his breath catch; she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He had known it the first day of that blasted class and he would go to his grave thinking so.

"This isn't you sweetheart," he started.

Try as he might, all the prepared words he had for her vanished from his mind. His only objective to let her know he loved her above everything in the world.

Caroline frowned, "How would you know? How do you know that this isn't who I am now?"

Her words were cold fury. Eyebrows were scrunched in maddening anguish a very vivid reminder of the free spirit she was inside. Klaus latched onto that, there was fire beneath those cold words, crack the ice and the flames would melt the rest.

"I have known you for almost ten years, and been married to you for six of those. I know your body better than you know it. I know that this shell who sits in the window and watches life pass her by is not my wife," he shot back.

Caroline grinded her teeth, fists clenching against the rim of the window seat to brace herself from lashing out. Klaus watched her face move from a vacuum to sorrow to white anger. He stamped down a smug grin at his ability to push her buttons so quickly. There she was his blonde fighter.

"My body, you think you know my body! I don't want to even look at my body!" she hissed out. She almost shouted the words but a glance down at Elise happily cooing on her little blanket with her teething ring gave her pause.

Caroline flashed her eyes back to him and in one swift motion, ripped her shirt up and off her body.

"Look at me Klaus! I have scars all over me a-and they won't go away." Caroline waved her hand to her stomach where purple lines of residual stretch marks ran across her ivory skin. Caroline's voice stumbled as she continued, "I can still feel the blood gushing from me when my skin tore from Elise's head. The epidural may have numbed me but I can still feel the hotness of my own blood leaving me."

Caroline was on a roll, emotions from five months breeching the surface. "Then they stitched me up and then shoved me out the room and said Congratulations you are mom. Good luck! I don't know what I'm doing, and half the time I wish I never had a baby. I take one l-look at my body and all I can see are just terrible scars. I want to feel beautiful again. I was a beauty queen for crying out a loud!"

It was all out then, every dark secret of her heart in the air never to be undone. Klaus stared at her in utter shock, not understanding why she couldn't she what a wonderful person she was. Then the tears started, hot unforgiving tears as Caroline fell off the seat and crumpled to the floor.

Klaus was right beside her, pulling her into his arms rocking her back and forth. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Elise frantically try to turn herself about, not wanting to be excluded from the action.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known and I think you are more so now," Klaus said into the top of her head. He wasn't the biggest on giving comfort but she needed him to now.

"These marks don't disfigure you in the slightest but are badges of honor of a woman willing to go to any lengths to bring her daughter into the world. You should be proud of them, I am."

Caroline stopped crying and unburied her face from the safety of his chest. A strangled laugh escaped her lips, "I told you I was a fighter, that I wouldn't let something like labor get in the in way of having a baby."

Klaus nodded, "And I told you I knew and it's what made me fall in love with you in the first place."

He was given an eye roll in response. Klaus was certain his heart doubled its pace, the signature move of his wife a sign the ice was melting.

"You were being arrogant and annoying."

"And you were strong and full of light."

A smile broke across her lips, the genuine article; something that hadn't been seen for weeks. The tension in the room lifted instantly and Klaus kicked himself for not talking to her earlier.

"Sweetheart, we are going to figure this out just like we always have. You are fighter, always have been and always will be."

Caroline sighed, not sounding convinced but a bit stronger, "Always and forever."

Klaus nodded his head and laid a soft kiss to her temple. Reaching over to pick up Elise he settled the little girl into his lap, Caroline resting her head on his shoulder.

"Now Elise, I need to tell you a story before your mother tells you. It began one day when this little American freshman thought she knew all there was about the Merchant of Venice," Klaus began in a playful voice.

Caroline groaned, "I did thank you very much. There was just this problem of some stup-"

"Hush love, I'm the better story teller," Klaus cut her off. Caroline huffed but fell silent, listening to Klaus relay their first meeting to the tiny baby in his lap.

Klaus did nothing to stop the devilish grin this time from spreading across his face. Caroline had a long road ahead but this was a start.


	29. Hate and Love Part I

**Part I of II series. Post 4x14 Klaus and Caroline hate each other **

He hated her, more than anything in the world. She made him feel and feeling was vulnerable for a super natural creature. Klaus had seen mere mortals ravage the land in the name of love to a being such as he, it was a death sentence. A death the executioner would prolong every betrayal and frustration another slice to his broken heart.

Not that death would be unwelcome at this point; he lost mostly everything that mattered to him. He would make her pay first; he would not share in this death alone. She had begged him not to kill Tyler and now for he wouldn't. He wanted her to have every hope that her prince would live, one day he would kill him and in doing so kill the emotion he held for her. But now he could not, he needed her too much.

How he hated every golden silken curl falling from her crown. He hated eyes that pierced his soul and a fiery tongue that shot out hot truth slicing him deeper than the executioner. Honesty that poured on him unlike any other person had before never giving him enough time to lick his wounds.

He despised Caroline.

* * *

She hated him, more than anything in the world. He stirred deep emotions in her that she didn't know how to handle. Emotions sparked within her a belief in the delicious promises of the glories of eternity, and the chance to have someone by her side for all of it, emotions that grew stronger with each passing day. What a glamorous lie it was, the beauty of life at the cost of the blood of innocents.

A lie she would gladly listen to, if it would only calm the fluttering in her soul. Her last card had been played against him, her control of his emotions. He loved her, whatever form of love he was capable of and now he held the ace. The ace of hearts was his card and it trumped both their previous hands, they were starting a new game now.

How she hated those glistening tears as the depth of emotion formed in his face. She hated the way his tarnished hair caught in the bright light of day blinding her view with its beauty and power. His heart was the same way, beauty and power shining with the light of her face. It that never let her go, holding her tight and telling her the lie of eternity might be truth after all.

She despised Klaus.


	30. Hate and Love Part II

**Part II of II series: Post 4x14 Klaus and Caroline love each**

He loved her, more than anything in the world. An emotion that burned so deeply in the depths of his soul, her light touching every dark corner of his mind. It was not until years later though that he realized how much. She had kissed him in a last vain attempt to stop him from chasing after Lockwood. A kiss that lead to something neither of them were ready for, but the need to finally explore each other overcame their better judgment.

So they ran, both of them. He fled to New Orleans to reclaim his throne and she left to Paris. It must have been fate for one day during a stroll along the Seine the siren call of her blood carried over to him from a nearby bridge. Slowly he journeyed over to her, as she stood studying him with an unexpected emotion that beat his heart with its intensity.

They stood there drinking in the sight of each other, lips finally betraying their true feelings in a passionate greeting. Her lips were soft yet strong, just as he remembered and this time he had no wish to have a day pass without that sensation reoccurring.

What he did not except was a low growl coming from the other side of river, Tyler Lockwood's giant black wolf trying to intimidate him. Instantly he pulled away from Caroline, instant betrayal trapping all joyous emotion. She fervently told him she had no idea that Tyler had been in Paris, she had not seen him since he left all those years earlier. He didn't know if he could trust her.

But the second the black wolf jumped towards her Klaus lost it, shifting instantly in a brilliant display of power and agonizing pain. He lunged straight for the younger wolf's throat, no desire to prolong his revenge any further but Caroline beat him to it. She smacked Tyler's snout with all her strength sending the beast over the railing and into the water before. The black animal was already a mile downstream before Klaus realized what happened.

She was heaving from the fury of her effort and eyeing him with caution, gauging if she should make a run for it or stand her ground. She chose to stand her ground, squaring her shoulders and slowly moving closer to him. Klaus could realize past the haze of the beast that it was her, her sweet scent the only life raft saving him from drowning in the animal and killing her.

Her sweet scent had plagued his dreams for every night that she had been gone from his bed. The smell spiking in him clarity and awakening of the love she claimed he felt all those years ago. He dropped his aggressive stance and trotted over to her, butting her softly at the apex of her legs where the delicious heat resided, a heat he once again wished to have.

Still she didn't flee but laughed, shoving his nose away. So that night when he caressed her naked body in his arms, worshiping her the way he planned to for the rest of eternity he realized he had marked her as his mate. His wolf could only see her as such, while his vampire side shunned the very thought of love. It would be a constant battle of emotions but he didn't care.

He loved Caroline.

* * *

She loved him, more than anything in the world. A passion that ignited the minute he saved her from his own folly on the night of her birthday. However it took her years to admit that was the emotion that scorched her soul. In an attempt to stomp down her denial about her emotions she slammed her lips onto Klaus' after Tyler left. She needed to get him out of her system so she could live a happy life with Tyler.

But the problem was Klaus had found a way into her heart and refused to leave. Paris seemed like a safe refuge then once Klaus fled to New Orleans. What a fool she was to flee from love by taking residence in the very city of love. So one day years later when she was taking her daily walk and thinking about him his musky scent tickled her nose and she caught him just along the river bed, with a look she had only seen a few times before.

How she had missed that expression of devotion, staring as he approached her stopping when their feet met. She was certain he could hear the pounding of her undead heart, the sight of him completely trapping her. Not knowing the words to say, she met his lips halfway all the power and wisdom melting her as his lips expertly moved against hers.

It came to her great surprise when a familiar growl broke their meeting. Caroline gasped in horror to see Tyler in wolf form about ready to pounce. Not thinking about anything else, she thrust herself in front of Klaus. She didn't know why Tyler was there but she finally had come to an understanding of her feelings and did not want him messing them up for her.

She was annoyed with Tyler, it had been twenty years and he not once tried to contact her. She had given up after ten years of trying to get a hold of him and moved on. So when Klaus shifted and lunged for Tyler she could only think of giving Tyler a piece of her mind. In anger she flashed over and smacked the black snout and sent him reeling over the edge and into the dirty water below. The feeling of watching him struggle in the water was freeing and right.

Now there was the problem of the alpha next to her. Caroline watched the gray and white animal, trying to see if there was any sign of recognition in his eyes or if she needed to book it out of there. Klaus was growling, the vibrations traveling across the old stone and shaking her bones. She did not want to run, the promise he made so long ago about never hurting again the only thing keeping her still or perhaps it was sheer stubborn determination.

They were both so stubborn and the ace of hearts was no longer in play. That game was long over, it ended the night they gave into each other the first time. The truth of their naked bodies touching other with emotion neither wanted was the end of the game. They had been so scared to play again they turned coward and ran. But Klaus was not running now and neither was she, the wolf making over to her and butting her core, and nuzzling into her pelvis.

Caroline could not help but laugh a bit in embarrassment, face flushing as she pushed him away. Leave it to Klaus to mark her as a wolf. The thought was still scary because this meant it was real for both of them. But the thought did not seem so scary when that night he touched her unlike any man had before, sending her to heights she could only dream of. It had started out as a glamorous lie of beauty the night of her eighteenth birthday. Somehow, somewhere along the way it had been revealed to be truth. It was not going to be easy, but she didn't care.

She loved Klaus.


	31. That's my Boy

**Drabble for sassyklaroline on tumblr. Klaus and Caroline get called to the principal's office to deal with their son. **

Klaus sighed heavily walking down the empty corridor of his son's school. It was the third time this month he received a call from the office about Erick involved in a fight. He perked up, his lips quirking into a dimpled grin, his hands shoved deep into his pockets at the knowledge that Erick had won every fight without almost a scratch on him. His son was rapidly becoming the best fighter of the neighborhood.

Striding into the principal's office he was met with a smile by the young secretary, not failing to notice her quick application of lipstick when his back was turned. If Caroline was there she would have socked the poor thing out, or at least stared her down from the tip of her nose and smile at her with false sweetness.

The Mikaelson charm was almost as famous as their news conglomerate. Everyone wanted to gush over how one of the various Mikaelson men batted eyes in their direction. Klaus never paid any attention to it. He was an alpha male after all, who was he to stand in the way of weaker minds falling prey to him?

"I'm here for Erick Mikaelson," he drawled out to the young girl.

The poor thing didn't know what to do with herself, blankly nodding her head and scrambling backwards in her chair. She stumbled getting up, bright flush painting her face. Her face turned as bright as the fiery hair on her crown. Klaus smirked to himself as she disappeared down a long hall of smaller offices, alerting the principle that he arrived.

A burly man came out of an office, the door much too small for his frame. Klaus attempted not show his amusement, instead fixating his gaze on the little person behind the large man. A set of green-blue eyes slowly met his, the face of his seven year old son looking all too smug within himself. The same wild mirth dancing his eyes that Kol carried all the time, whether it was a product of Erick's natural tendencies or the side affects of spending too much time with his uncle, Klaus didn't know.

He set his face in a firm line, his cold iron mask of indifference as the principle finally caught up with him in the lobby area.

"Mr. Mikaelson when we talked last, I assumed the problem was being dealt with. It appears now, that it has not. If there is one more incidence of fighting occurring on these premises again, further action will be taken," the principal snapped at him with a haughty tongue.

Klaus stared coldly at the man, the administrator attempting to match his steely gaze but after a minute more the principal faltered under the intensity.

"I know very well how to handle the upbringing of my son. I can promise you further action will not be necessary. I would suggest however to not insult my parenting; I can be quite nasty if you wish to press further in those accusations."

Cold tension descended on the room instantly, the busy typing at the desks of the other office staff stopped, intently listening. Almost as famous as the Mikaelson charm was the Mikaelson coldness, everyone was waiting with baited breath to see what their principle would do next.

The burly man bristled himself about, faint splotches of red creeping up the back of his neck and circling around his ears. He attempted to speak but found himself incapable of doing so, finally he managed to spit out, "See that this doesn't happen again."

With that last statement Klaus looked at his son with the same coldness he used on the principal. Erick was sporting a cut lip and dried specks of blood on his knuckles. Klaus could also tell there was a black eye forming on one side of his face and noticed a tear in his school uniform and ratted tie. Erick had the good sense to look ashamed, following Klaus out into the hall, the principal's eyes boring into both their backs.

Closing the office door with a click, the coldness dropped instantly from Klaus' face, breaking into a dimpled grin. Erick's face mirrored his own, dimples and all.

"How many were there?" Klaus playfully asked.

Erick gave his father a toothy grin, "I was able to take down three before one boy grabbed me arms and pinned them behind me."

Klaus grinned even wider, "That's my boy. Was it the Jones' chap? You said he is the one who keeps spurning all this nonsense."

Erick bobbed his head wildly, "Thomas Jones, I hate that little prat."

Klaus let a chuckle escape his lips, "In all seriousness you cannot fight them on school grounds your mother-"

"Your mother what?" asked a very annoyed feminine voice.

Klaus and Erick both looked up to see Caroline just enter the front doors of the building. Her heels clicked across the floor as she bustled over to them. Klaus didn't have to see the expression on her face to know she was seething the temperature in the hall skyrocketing with each forward step.

"You better have a seriously good explanation why I was pulled from the middle of a catering event for the Duchess of Cambridge herself to come over here," she hissed at her boys.

Caroline's arms were crossed, fingers tapping her arm in annoyance. Klaus reached out a hand to soothe his troubled wife but she just smacked the hand away. Bending down, she was eye level with Erick, already wetting her thumb and rubbing at a speck of blood on his cheek.

"What were you fighting about?" she sternly asked.

Erick flit his eyes up to his father and Klaus shook his head behind Caroline's back. Erick swallowed thickly.

"It was nothing Mum, just a spat over who won the game," he answered a little too high.

Caroline raised a brow, "You're lying."

"I swear I'm not, honest." Erick pressed doing his best to escape the clutches of his mother.

"Sweetheart, I already gave him a proper lecture, let the boy be," Klaus jumped in.

Caroline whipped around, "Proper lecture?" she said intimating his accent, "If you had given him a proper lecture we won't be here again!''

Klaus grit his teeth, trying not to let his anger rear its ugly horns. "Let it be love, there is no need to make a scene."

Caroline huffed but stood up, "This conversation isn't over. We will be talking about this when we get home. Right now, I need to go make sure that nothing caught on fire while I was gone."

She turned to the door, Klaus and Erick behind her. Klaus smirked at Erick, who releasing a dramatic sigh.

"Should I have told her?" Erick asked looking up to his father. Klaus could detect the doubt in his son voice and clapped him reassuringly on the shoulder.

"No, you acted like a Mikaelson. Never let those boys forget that."

Erick's face broke into a grin to which Klaus returned. They were never going to tell Caroline the reason for the fights. A boy defending his mother's honor was the highest sign of respect, there was no need to let Caroline know how much Erick would do for her-at least not yet.


	32. The Letter and The List

**Klaus receives a letter from Caroline**

Klaus dared not open the letter Stefan handed him, already fearing the contents within. His long time friend still had tears in his eyes. Stefan quickly grabbed a tumbler off the cabinet, filling it with a generous helping of amber liquid. Klaus watched him throw back the alcohol with no effort at all, refilling the glass to repeat his action.

Klaus' eyes drifted down to his hand, his name scrolled in neat cursive, perfectly centered on the side on the letter. His vision blurred and he failed to notice the tremor in his hand, the letter shaking slightly. It was the only noise in the grand room, both men silent.

After what seemed an agonizing space of time, he gently opened the page to see it full of the same neat cursive that was on the outside. Taking a deep breath he began to read the words addressed to him.

_Klaus,_

_When you read this it means I didn't make it and I'm sorry. It means Stefan didn't find me fast enough and I won't be coming back to you. _

_I'm sorry we'll never get to visit all the places that you promised to take me. I really wanted to go to. After you first left to distract myself I made a list of all the different places I wanted to visit and somehow it morphed into all the places I wanted you to take me. _

_I found the more you were in New Orleans and I was away at school, the more I thought of you. I tried to date humans, vampires, werewolves all of them but nothing ever panned out. I told myself it was because it just wasn't the right time or because I wanted to explore life for awhile. You told me all these wonderful things about being a vampire and I wanted to do those things so badly. Now I know it was something else entirely._

_When you bit me that night and forced Tyler to leave I hated you. You gave me all these ideas of what life could be like except I wanted that to be with Tyler. I found him you know, and it turns out his ideas of eternity and my ideas of eternity were so totally different. Truthfully, it turns out my ideas of eternity are your ideas of eternity. We're the same that way, just like you said. _

_You stupid man, you got under my skin when I didn't want you to. You made me feel emotions I wasn't prepared for. You gave me hope and dreams, made me want to live and sparked even deeper emotions but I couldn't see past what you did to my friends. I didn't want to forgive you and I hated you. But now, I'm dying and I'm so tired of fighting my emotions._

_I guess what I'm trying to say in all this crazy rambling is I care about you Klaus. I think that I might even love you. I don't know when or how about somewhere along the way I stopped putting all my energy into loathing you and realized it was a lot easier to care about you._

_I know you and you want to go out and kill the wolves that did this to me but don't-seriously. Stefan already took care of it._

_I wish I could have seen you one last time and I'm sorry I was too much in denial and stubborn to confess earlier. If I had confessed my feelings earlier, I wouldn't have gone to Richmond for school. Instead I would have followed you to New Orleans. Dying here in the middle of the swamps is not how I pictured my end. _

_There are so many things I wish I could write but it is getting harder and harder to focus. So instead I've asked Stefan to bring my box to you. _

_I love you Niklaus Mikaelson. Thank you for believing in me and letting me see how beautiful my life could have been. _

_Love, Caroline. _

Klaus crumpled into the couch behind him, numb to everything around him. She loved him. Caroline Forbes, baby vampire, former Miss Mystic Falls, loved him.

She loved him and he lost her. Nature would not let him have a moment's happiness.

He sat curled up tightly on the couch, Stefan equally stony in a chair by the fireplace. They both stayed there silent and unmoving lost in pain and grief. At some point Klaus became aware of himself again and noticed the box Caroline had referred to in her letter resting on the end of the couch. Stefan must have moved at some point and placed it there.

It was just a simple shoe box, no doubt leftover from one of the many shopping trips to feed her never ending shoe obsession. The contents of the box though surprised him; it was full of all kinds of memorabilia. He gingerly noticed the invitation from his family's ball, his drawing for her, and a tiny cut out of a snowflake. Everything was related to one way or another to their relationship, or whatever it was that they had. It was wildly romantic and girly but that was Caroline.

He tried so hard to stop the tremor in his hands but it was physically impossible even for him. The self proclaimed unfeeling hybrid that had a thousand plus years experience at burying his emotions could do nothing to stop them now. When it came to Caroline though, he was never in control as much as he wished.

Stefan noticed his distress and left the room. Finally in the privacy of solitude did the blurriness of his vision finally relieve itself as hot tears coursed down his cheeks. How long he cried silently he didn't know, he just continued to relive every memory of her stored in that box. In the midst of all the memories Klaus noticed a well worn stack of papers, scribbled on in all varying colors of ink.

It was her list. Taking it out, Klaus set the box aside, curious to know what she had written. A small smile flashed across his face as he read the first line.

_1. See the stars from the top of the Eiffel Tower._

_2. Dance in the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras._

_3. Go to Disneyworld -drag Stefan along? _

Klaus laughed after the third item, settling into the couch he continued to read the list, desperate to read anything that had come from her lips. It was ten pages long and well over two hundred ideas were listed, some described in great detail. He decided in that moment he would follow the list and visit everything on it. It would be his way to remember her, and he would repeat it until the stars fell from the sky. Why?-because Carolina Forbes had loved him, the only person in all existence to give him a chance.


	33. She Could Not Stay

**Klaroline scene re-imagined as Labyrinth. (Labyrinth is a David Bowie movie with Jennifer Connelly produced by Jim Hensen)**

"Klaus give me Elena," Caroline ordered in a firm tone.

She was just steps away from him. The illustrious and cold Goblin King, the greatest alpha of them all in all his glory. Her heart was still racing from climbing the endless and twisting steps of his Escher room. Elena was still drugged with some kind of hallucinogen and each time Caroline had gotten within arm's reach of her childhood friend, the brunette seemed to disappear and reappear on the other side of the room. It had been exhausting.

Klaus raised a brow at Caroline as she collapsed against the stone wall, "Caroline, beware love."

Caroline rolled her eyes at the arrogant remark; the man didn't know when to stop. Still her heart began somersaulting with his use of the pet name. It rolled off his tongue so easily. She cursed herself for letting his words touch her. His little obsession with her was starting to wear on her.

"I have been generous up until now," he informed her.

As if the mere proclamation of his actions would soothe over everything that happened since she first stepped in his world. She scoffed at the words.

He frowned, "but I can be cruel."

"Generous! Are you kidding me right now?" she retorted.

He honestly thought he was the good guy in all this? He manipulated her ever chance he had, tricking her with his silver tongue, making her lose time in his precious maze. His stupid maze she had to navigate to save Elena.

With an incredulous snort she looked up at him, still too tired to push herself off the wall supporting her. "What have you done that's generous?"

A deep growl resounded from Klaus' chest, more animalistic than Caroline thought possible. He flashed to her, placing his arms on either side of her body essentially trapping her against the wall. Caroline refused to be frightened by him.

"Everything!" he breathed out, his face bent over hers.

Caroline's heart was definitely fluttering madly now. There was certain truth in his statement but she didn't want to admit it. It had been her fault she was there in the first place. Caroline wished Elena away. It was why her words were biting and harsh against him. Admitting Klaus was right was to accept her own mistake.

She felt blush creep up from the swell of breasts and to her neck. It was hard to think when he was close to her. She watched the icy black of his eyes melt into warmth. Now her stomach joined her heart in funny movements, liking the affection his face held when softened. It almost made her want to give in.

Klaus reached out a hand to catch curl in his fingers. Caroline didn't dare breathe in fear of losing herself. The man was too beautiful for his own good. The tarnished gold of his own hair fell down around his head in loose waves, eyes reflecting more green than blue in the dull light of the room. His clothes left little to the imagination, the tight leather tailored to perfection.

Such perfection that had her admiring his body, every chance she got and oh had she. It was frustrating to have him look was devastatingly good while all she wanted to do is be upset with him. She wanted him to suffer for toying with her, wanting him, and most of all for making her face her mistake.

Klaus pressed his mouth close to her ear, the action sending shivers down her spine. "Everything that you wanted I have done, Caroline."

He continued when she didn't bark back, "You asked that Elena be taken. I took her."

That line infuriated Caroline and she stiffened straight as door against the stone wall. She opened her mouth to snap back but clamped it down just as quickly. He just loved to goad her about her ill-fated wish every chance he had. Klaus wanted a rise out of her but she wouldn't fall for that trick. She was too smart to be seduced by him.

So she settled for settling her lips in a firm line and staring at him with an even firmer glare. Klaus just smiled.

"You cowered before me love. And it was frightening," the mocking taunt fueled her resolve.

She could do this, she could beat him and she wouldn't fall for his ploy. Klaus' devil smile widened, upping his game, "I have reordered time. I have turned the world upside-down, Caroline, and I have done it all for you."

It started confident and demanding but the more Klaus spoke the more Caroline saw a loneliness shine through. Her heart wrenched, his words were honest in that statement, and the guilt crept up on her. The sternness in her face slipped just a little but nothing more. She was too stubborn and prideful to open her mouth.

Klaus' soft expression hardened again when Caroline made no response to his confession. Klaus pulled back from her, running a hand over his face. He looked tired and worn out.

"I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me," he cursed her, bitterness lacing his words.

Anger flashed across his face and he zoomed back into her personal space pressing his whole body against hers. He squeezed her tightly against the wall almost to the point of physical pain. Every inch of their bodies could be felt against each other, both the chests heaving in angry effort. He was every bit as stubborn as she.

Klaus tilted his head down to hers; all she had to do was move just a fraction and their lips would touch. They would touch and Caroline could finally satisfy the craving for his taste. A craving she had from the moment he appeared in Elena's bedroom to inform her of the consequences of her wish.

"Isn't that generous?" he whispered.

More guilt ate at her, guilt about her actions. She just wanted to grab Elena and go home and get on with the rest of her life, she had to. Problem was she forming an attachment to the man trapping her against the wall. He had seen clearly into her soul and found she liked it, but she really couldn't stay.

_Words_, she had to remember the words. Say the right words and she could go home. The words from the Labyrinth book, the words she practiced over and over again. Expect her talent for always talking was failing her now, the correct words to say not coming to her. So she picked up with the first line she could remember.

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered-"

Klaus' eyes widened a fraction and pushed him further into her, letting his hips roll against hers. The friction sparked the fire that had been growing between them. Caroline's breath caught in her throat and her hips bucking back against his. She had to snap her eyes shut just to focus.

"Ugh, I have f-fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City, for my will is as strong as yours."

Caroline felt herself grow in strength with each word she spoke. The well rehearsed lines gave her power. "And my-"

"Stop!" he hissed, cool air washed over her body and Caroline opened her eyes to see Klaus standing just a few inches back but her arms still trapped within the confines of his body.

"Wait," it was almost pleading, if alphas could plead that is, "Love look. Look what I'm offering you Caroline, your dreams."

Klaus held out the crystal ball he first tempted her with in Elena's house. She watched the ball roll across his fingers in sad resignation. She couldn't take the offer of getting all her dreams at the price of forgetting Elena. They had grown up best friends, Caroline wouldn't be who she was today without Elena.

She wanted to be selfish, to live out her dream, but her friends came first. She snapped her eyes shut again._ Focus Caroline._

"and my kingdom is great." she finished the line she started.

Klaus leaned back in, "I ask for so little."

His hand moved from the wall to rest on crook of her neck. Caroline felt the movements of his fingers, the ridges of his thumb stroking over her skin, across the bump of her collar bone. He meant his skin over hers to distract her; she was so close from saying the right words. They both knew it.

"Love," he leaned into her ear again, "Just let me rule you."

Caroline shivered under his caress, instinctively arching her neck and exposing tender milky flesh to Klaus. Her built-up resolve crumpled, his temptation was too much after being barraged with it for so long. He did not hesitate to take advantage, laying hot kisses from her ear down the column of her neck. She clawed into the wall with her fingers, blinding pleasure filling her from simple kisses.

"You can have everything you want sweetheart," his hand left her neck roaming across her shoulder and down her front pressing and kneading her body as he went.

Caroline braced herself then as he moved to cup her supple breasts and mold them in his powerful hands. Small whimpers betrayed Caroline, escaping her body before she could stop them.

"Kingdom is g-great….." Klaus' mouth moved to the swell of her breasts, tongue darting out to lavish her skin.

Caroline was panting now, "Damn it! Why can't I remember that line?"

If she didn't remember the line now, she was not going to make it and would succumb to the man before her. She wanted to relent more than anything but she couldn't stay.

"Just fear me, love me," he demanded, bringing his face back up to hers, cupping her cheeks. Caroline did not except tenderness in his touch then, perhaps she really could love this man. His eyes pleaded with hers despite the finality of his words.

"Caroline just do as I say, and I will be your slave."

It was his final bargain, everything she wanted and needed; someone who would put her first, to love her, someone who would challenge unlike any other. Her lips reached up to his, ghosting over them in an almost satisfaction. It was a constant tease of almost.

But she couldn't be selfish; she had to bring Elena home.

"My kingdom is great….my kingdom is great." She muttered trying to return to those words she needed to say.

Instantly his lips pressed against hers, no more games, no more almost. Caroline was in heaven, responding to his eager movements with her own fervor. She twisted her hands into his hair to press him closer to her body, if that were possible. They were already molded against each other in perfect harmony. Thirteen hours they had been dancing around each other and now at the end, she'd be damned if she was leaving without once tasting him.

Elena's name again flashed across her mind. It gave enough clarity for Caroline to pull back from him. Her whole mouth was tingling from having his tongue dance around in hers and the pressure of those sinful lips on hers. She doubted she could ever forget such a kiss. She pressed her forehand against his; she was stronger than him in the end. He couldn't seduce her, although he almost did.

The right words finally came to her mind, "You have no power over me."

It was just barely audible, whispered against his lips but it had to be said. Klaus clenched her arms, in desperation. Caroline cleared her throat and pulled back to look clearly into his piercing gaze.

"You have no power over me," she stated again loud and clear, her eyes were as determined as his.

She could not stay.

A/N: Next week is going to be all about awkward Klaroline drabbles. If you have an awkward idea send it in. The more awkward the better!


	34. Vote For Your Favorite Awkward Prompts

_I know this isn't a drabble but I didn't want you guys to miss out on all the fun from tumblr._

These are the prompt ideas that have come in for awkward Klaroline next week. **Read them over and pick your favorite four that you want. **_Then drop down to the review section and leave me a note saying which ones you would like to read!_ Then starting on Monday one will be posted each day until 4x16.

**May the most awkward (crack!fic) situation win!**

-Awkward first kiss

-Caught in the act-Klaus and Caroline catch each in the act of something silly (like singing or dancing)

-Caught in the act-Caroline walks in on Klaus jerking off with her picture in his hand

-Awkward clothing swap-morning after situation and they grab the wrong clothes

-Awkward silence- Klaus attempts to flirt with Caroline while she is busy doing something and it doesn't go in his favor

-Awkward underwear exposure

-Three someone between Caroline present Klaus and a past version of Klaus

-Caroline, Tyler, and Klaus become trapped only to be set free once their dark secrets are revealed

-Caught in the act-Klaus and Caroline keep trying to have sexy times but something/someone keeps stopping them

-Someone has flatulence issues

-Klaus has performance issues/premature ejaculation

-Klaus has blood lust issues after smelling Caroline (human) on her period

-Klaus sends a weird text meant for Stefan to Caroline

-Klaus steps in to be Caroline's gynecologist for her check up


	35. Minimal Impact

**Reader request from tumblr. Caroline ends up sent back in time after a spell gone wrong in no other than the Mikaelson home.**

"Bonnie! That isn't the right -" Caroline screamed at her friend when her world went white. The pure light blinded her vision causing Caroline to shield her eyes from the intensity of it all. Gradually the brightness dimmed until Caroline didn't feel it burning her eyes and a familiar haughty voice informed her she wasn't in Kansas anymore.

_Rebekah_, Caroline internally groaned.

Pulling her arms down from her eyes Caroline realized she was standing in a very feminine and gaudy decorated room of none other than the she devil herself. But something was off Rebekah was standing in a shift and what appeared to be corset something Caroline only recognized from watching Pride and Prejudice one too many times. Except Rebekah wasn't telling her off in English but in another language-Russian perhaps?

Caroline instantly was pinned against the wall with Rebekah's fangs about ready to sink into her neck. Caroline shoved Rebekah back with all her strength, the surprise move catching the original off guard and sending her back a few steps.

"What the hell Rebekah?" she snapped showing her own fangs.

Rebekah's retracted her fangs a curious expression on her face, soft and not hard like Caroline was used too. The softness hardened into suspicion then the usual haughty demeanor descending on her face.

"How do you know my name and how did you get into my room?" she hissed out at Caroline.

Caroline glared at her, confused and upset. "What are you talking about? I've known you for almost a whole year Rebekah, it's me Caroline. We were trying to find Klaus remember Bonnie was attempting to do a locator spell that would send me to him but obviously she got that wrong. Ugh, I warned her to seriously not use that spell." Caroline tilted her head at Rebekah trying to understand why she was wearing those clothes. "What are you even wearing right now? You look like a misplaced extra from a Jane Austen movie."

The older blonde sniffed, "Me? You should see what your wearing darling; you look like a trollop from the underbelly of Moscow."

"Moscow?" Caroline squeaked.

Rebekah rolled her eyes, "Honestly you have no idea where you are? Oh Lord this truly is some spell gone wrong. This is exactly why I have no patience for witches."

Caroline gulped; looking out the window to the streets below to see carriages and people wearing what Caroline knew was not rolling off the runway in Paris currently. Wide-eyed, Caroline looked back to Rebekah who carried on getting dressed as if nothing was out of place. Caroline started to fan herself in panic and muttered, "Oh my god, oh my god."

She was in a full out Caroline Forbes panic attack because everything that she just assimilated told her she wasn't in Mystic Falls or even the right year. Breathing deeply to stabilize her shaking body she clasped her hands in front of her mouth and through clenched teeth asked Rebekah, "What year is it?"

"1812."

The floor dropped from beneath Caroline and she staggered over to the bed, throwing herself down on it. Rebekah glanced down from pinning her hair up at the vanity set. Scrunching her brows with a pursing of her lips she got up and walked over to the closest. Caroline heard her rummaging through her wardrobe and after a minute the sounds stopped and Rebekah reappeared with a pale blue and white gown in hand.

Caroline raised herself from the bed, "What are you doing?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes as it were the most obvious action, "You can't be seen looking like that. I don't want to know when you came from because it's clear that you all dress like harlots in your century. If what you say about my brother is true the best thing is to get you to him so you can go home. Besides I like you, it's nice having another female vampire. I don't have too many friends in Russia."

Caroline raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. If only Rebekah knew how much they were not friends, okay they could tolerate each other but friends? She sighed dramatically and took the dress. The soft pale blue silk lay underneath a thin sheer lace with intricate flowers embroidered throughout, the empire waist line and simple form easy on the eye. It truly was a beautiful gown and Caroline was never one to say no to beautiful things.

Rebekah yanked Caroline up from the bed, "Come on, if you are to be presentable for the ball I won't have you looking as such."

"Ball?" Caroline stammered, as Rebekah began shoving her towards a wash room.

Rebekah rolled her eyes again; Caroline couldn't help but be annoyed. "Of course darling, how else are you going to run into my brother? Now stop arguing we only have an hour."

Getting pampered by Rebekah was quite the thing; the entire time she was expecting the older blonde to rip her throat out for one wrong move. To her surprise though the two girls fell into easy conversation and now as Caroline stood admiring herself in the mirror she felt like a storybook princess ready to meet her prince. She scoffed Klaus was no prince of fairytales. All she wanted to do was find him and have him explain how the exactly the hell she was supposed to go home. This was the last time Caroline was ever going to trust Bonnie with shady locator spells again.

Adjusting the silk gloves she was struck with a scary thought. If she time traveled did Rebekah and Klaus remember all this in the present time? Caroline sucked in a sharp breath the implications of this trip sinking in. Rebekah had pushed for Caroline to try the locator spell in the present with Bonnie, in fact quite adamantly. Did that mean that the she-devil knew who she was all along? Caroline's head spun with the thoughts….then that meant Klaus did to. What if something happened here that spurned on Klaus into being obsessed with her in the first place?

"You alright Caroline?" Rebekah asked seeing the younger vampire losing color from her face.

Caroline looked at her with a fuzzy gaze, the theories in her mind still swimming. Her best chance was to just get to Klaus and he direct her where she should go, make minimal impact. Minimal impact that is what she kept muttering to herself as Rebekah guided her out of her home, down the snowy streets of Moscow, and into dance hall at the palace. As Caroline crossed the threshold of the dance hall all breath was robbed from her lungs the opulence of the room sending her reeling.

But it wasn't the larger than life chandeliers glistening from the lofty ceiling, the wall length mirrors, or gold craftsmanship adoring the walls that stole her breath no, it was the man she knew all too well standing on the far side of the room in a stiff coat and jacket, white gloves hiding his hands and his hair falling around his devil horns in golden ringlets. Caroline found herself unable to look away from him, her eyes burning into his profile.

Klaus must have felt her gaze because slowly he turned from the conversation he was holding with two other gentleman in rapid Russian. His steely blue eyes fixated on her as he began his journey across the crowed room to Caroline and Rebekah. His lips parted just as they had when saw her for the first time at the ball held at his home in Mystic Falls, the heat growing brighter and deeper as he approached. Caroline thought she was going to die in the blue flames and did her best to shift closer to Rebekah to melt into her and away from penetrating stare.

At the last minute he averted his eyes and held out his hand to Rebekah, his sister placing her ivory gloved hand in his. Bending down he placed a polite kiss on her knuckles.

"Dear sister, who is your delicious little friend?" he questioned.

Caroline raised her brow at the cocky attitude, he never changed. Apparently he also thought she only spoke Russian. Before Rebekah could make polite introductions Caroline butted in, "My name is Caroline Forbes and I'm not for eating."

Klaus' eyes widened in surprise but recovered just as quickly the usual mirth growing, "An American, I should have known. Aren't we presently at war with your little floundering nation?"

Rebekah scoffed, upset Klaus was being so attentive towards Caroline, "She wouldn't know."

Caroline snapped her head at Rebekah sending her a scowl to which Rebekah just rolled her eyes at. Klaus was amused by the exchange but his face turned cold when Rebekah turned back and leaned in towards him, "She's from the future, a witch's spell gone wrong. Apparently she just needed to find you."

Klaus eyed Caroline with a hard look which she returned with an equally impressive glare. Caroline just wanted to go home; her plan to make minimal impact was already blown out the window. She couldn't keep her mouth shut to save her life, he already had her name. The harder he stared at her the more he decided he liked her, she had spirit and a bright fire burning within her.

Caroline tried not to let her face waiver in its steadiness, determined to out stare him. She had known him long enough to recognize he was testing her at the moment pushing the boundaries, the tease he always was. The heat in his eyes was becoming too much, the stare diving into her soul and learning all her little secrets, his eyes still shielding his like they always did. Klaus finally held out a hand waiting for her to place her gloved one in his. Caroline stared at the proffered hand, using any excuse to escape his stare without backing out in failure.

Reaching out to place her fingers in his, she sighed softly enough that no one could hear but the man invading her personal space. Just as Klaus bent over to kiss her fingers, the world flared white again, Caroline blinded and snapping her eyes closed. It took awhile for her to regain her senses again once the light began to fade and realized once more she was back in Mystic Falls with Bonnie and Rebekah.

"Umm, what are you wearing?" Bonnie asked.

Caroline dazed and confused still titled her head and glanced down at her attire. She could hear Rebekah chuckling as she filed away at her nails.

"You know that was my favorite gown, I was so mad when you disappeared. It took me the rest of the night to explain to the other guests that you had just been a figment of their imaginations. It was rather bothersome," she said not looking up from her handiwork with her nail beds.

Caroline scowled and turned to Bonnie, "I need to go home."

Bonnie giving her a puzzled frown just nodded Caroline out the door with vamp speed before she could question her friend any further. Racing all the way home Caroline flew through the house, into her room, slammed the door shut, and rested her forehand against the door.

"Lovely dress love, where ever did you get?" Klaus' joking voice asked.

Caroline flat out groaned, shoulders slumping over. She turned around to see him resting against her bedpost, arms crossed and a smug grin plastered across his face.

"You remember?" she asked pinching the bridge of her nose.

Klaus smirked even further, "You make quite the impression Caroline. Between the vision of you in this dress, then you rudely butting in, and the managing to last as long as you did in a staring match I must say every moment of those brief minutes was burned into my memory never to disappear."

"Seriously!" she whined.

So much for a minimal impact.


	36. The Letter and The List Part II

**A continuation of The Letter and The List. **

Perhaps he understood why Rebekah sought for love so desperately now.

Prior to Caroline, Tatia had been the closest to his heart and that ended in a shower of tears and blood. Love, it was the unattainable high of belonging, to be needed by someone simply because they cared. No secret agenda, no ploy of emotions just simple devotion. It was a magnificent and terrifying feeling all at the same time.

For one briefing shining moment, he knew that feeling.

Now it was forever tainted by what could have been. He cursed himself, nature, and everything under the heavens. He desperately wanted to curse Caroline for making him weak and feel more deeply than he thought he was capable of but he could not. She had a way of doing that, pulling him out of his comfort zone and slapping him in the face with honesty and raw emotion. He hated it but yet, he needed it more than blood itself.

A soft laugh broke his brooding thoughts. Klaus tilted his head towards the sound to see a blonde woman crying and laughing at the man bended on knee in front of her. He watched the scene with dead eyes. The blonde woman was nodding her head in an emphatic yes, accepting the ring that was being offered to her.

His mind drifted, the shifting the scene in his head, the woman blurring into the graceful form of Caroline and the dark haired man bending on his knee into himself.

"Marry me, love," he would say.

Except he wouldn't bend on his knee-he would never kneel for anyone, even for her.

Caroline would laugh and cry at the same time, her blonde curls bouncing about and her ever running mouth finally stopping at the loss of words.

Would she say yes?

He would never know.

Klaus shook himself of thought, such fanciful daydreams were not the reason he came here. Nature deemed him too far gone to receive any measure of happiness; there was no use in wishing for it. Turning away from the human scene, Klaus returned his gaze back to the Parisian skyline. The ancient city a dark canvas of spotted lights, the night life of the city at full volume.

Her letter rested in his hands, covered in a protective plastic. It had been read so many times now that the edges had frayed and the creases in the paper scratched away the ink. Not that it mattered he knew the letter word for word.

Klaus kept it because it was one the few remaining evidences of her presence in his long life. In comparison to the span of his life she truly was just a brief moment. A brief moment that irrevocably shaped him, and depending on his mood it was a positive or negative change.

He gripped the cold iron in his hands, until he felt the railing bend under the power of his strength. The rush of power helped him focus, push down the emotions in his heart. He felt in control again. Four hundred and seventy-two years had passed since the arrival of the letter.

Four hundred and seventy-two years of never forgetting.

Klaus looked up at the heavens above, the pale twinkling lights of stars eons from him, brief spots of blinding brilliance on the eternal stretch of darkness. Just like Caroline had been for him. He let out a heavy sigh, his face cold and frozen in a mask of nothingness. Turning from the railing on the highest balcony of the Eiffel Tower he began the long journey back down the aging metal structure.

_1. See the stars from the top of the Eiffel Tower._

He was starting the list over again; it would take a whole year to finish it. But it made him feel close to her, made him feel happy again for a brief moment. For it was all he had now, the words of her letter and the wishes on her list.


	37. Last Days of Summer Preview

**Hey everyone just a quick house keeping note. You'll notice that my pen name changed from Mistress of the House to drabblesinklaroline. I switched to have my tumblr and FF handles be the same so it is easier for people to find me. **

**Second, today's drabble is actually a preview of my upcoming Klaroline story **_The Last Days of Summer**. **_**It was formally entitled **_The Oxford Courtship_**. Anyway because I love you all so much I wanted to give you a sneak peak of it. This is the first chapter unedited so the final edit might be different. Enjoy and tell what you think! I'll start publishing it in April. **

**Summary: **

The arrival of Silas creates a series of events no one in Mystic Falls could have predicted. In an attempt for normalcy and safety, Caroline, with help from Klaus, gets accepted into Oxford University.  
Europe is unlike anything Caroline could have prepared for; the supernatural world outside of Mystic Falls is full of power hungry vampires and unforgiving politics. Caroline finds help navigating this world in the form of Rebekah.  
In discovering this new world, Caroline has the constant presence of Klaus to deal with and what he means to her. Klaus, who switches his time between England and New Orleans, is doing his best to keep his family in power and keep Caroline alive. As they grow closer the threat of Silas grows stronger.

**Sneak Peak, Chapter 1: **

It had been exactly three months since the disaster at Nova Scotia. Three months since everything changed and the world fell apart. So far only the supernatural world had noticed the changes and hopefully it would stay hidden for just a little longer. Caroline closed her eyes, a hand to her heart to push back the tears in her eyes. The age of innocence was over and she could do nothing to stop it, all her efforts to soothe crying hearts were in vain.

The soft breeze through trees and the faint smell of Spanish moss caught in the air calmed her breaking her heart. She thought after all this time, tears would stop falling but some deaths she would never be over. She wasn't even supposed to be here but the need to say good bye was too great. Being in the cemetery at night was creepy enough as it was when she was human always nervous about the monsters of the night and now she was the monster of the night. At least she hadn't been caught yet.

"Saying good bye I see," his accented voice carried over to her.

Caroline wiped away the errant tears and turned to see Klaus lurking against the trunk of the old oak in the moonlight, the broken headstones at its base almost overtaken by creeping kudzo. He seemed to fit right in with the location, his eyes betraying how old the hybrid truly was. She watched him silently approach her, his face growing more concerned as he saw the fresh tear tracks on her face.

He reached her and turned down to look at the grave she had placed the lilies and rosemary on. Fresh ones were placed on the grave almost every day, something he knew Caroline was responsible for. From the tentative friendship they had created since February all the way through graduation, Klaus knew the Caroline was falling apart. All the others were so caught up in the doppelganger that he was the only to see her downward spiral.

The death had changed everything for everyone and now she was the last one in Mystic Falls, everyone else already scattered to the four winds. Now it was his turn, he had to venture to New Orleans. He had already been several times in the last month, finally deciding last week that he just needed to be there for awhile. Marcel was trying to keep his little kingdom in line but the whispers in shadow were drawing strength, people starting to get nervous. After the attempted death plot by the were-slut Hayley, Klaus had grown closer again with his old protégé rekindling their friendship.

Marcel needed him in New Orleans; the presence of an original was the only thing that could dispel the tittle-tattle circulating behind closed doors._ Silas has returned_ the shadows taunted, _witches are falling to expression_ they warned. Even those who practiced simple voodoo for the tourists knew the danger of those words. If Klaus was going to make friendly with the witches again, the French Quarter was the place to do it.

Caroline still had no response for him, she didn't want to admit that she was saying good-bye but Klaus was right that was what she was doing. She was almost nineteen, she shouldn't be saying good-bye to so many people this young, vampire or not.

"What time does the plane leave?" she asked, she wasn't going to say good-bye, not yet.

"You need to leave in the next ten minutes to catch the plane," he responded.

Caroline shook her head, turning away from the grave. Putting the sadness behind her she pouted at Klaus, "This seriously isn't the way I planned for college to go. They don't even have football or cheerleading! I'm mean what kind of college does that?"

"They most certainly do have football."

Caroline rolled her eyes, annoyed she let herself walk right into that jab, "Soccer is not what I meant and you know it."

Klaus just shrugged as they reached the car, opening the door for Caroline she popped in without another word. The drive to the airport was tense and quiet, too much had happened but neither knew what to say to the other. Caroline tried several times to engage Klaus but the stern look he had while staring out at the road made her stop every time. Why was it so complex between them? She didn't even know what they were to each other because enemies were no longer the appropriate term but nothing else fit either. They were just them, one boiled up confused mess.

"I still don't see why I need do this, I told you before I can take care of myself."

Klaus smirked, the tension in his face finally easing, "Separation was what we all decided would be the best for everyone."

Caroline scowled, "Then explain to me why Elijah and Rebekah are going with you?"

Klaus growled, "We are not arguing about this again."

Again an eye roll from Caroline, "Oh please, I don't buy that originals-making-a-stance-crap."

A sudden screeching from the brakes jolted Caroline forward the only thing keeping her in her in seat. They stopped just in front of the little plane at Mystic Falls' small airport.

"What the hell Klaus, that was completely uncalled for!"

Her eyes were burning into his the daggers there just as harsh as her voice sounded. Klaus was equally trying to intimidate her, his face cold but eyes raging. "You would do well sweetheart to remember who it is we are dealing with. You best chance at survival is obscurity at the moment, the vampire world outside your home is harsh and cold. Despite knowing me, that will not be enough to save you. You want to live more than anything, so I'm giving you this chance to do so."

Caroline wanted to be upset with him but he was right. It still didn't mean she was happy with the situation but when even her mom ganged up on her, saying it was a good idea. She walked around to the back of the trunk, pulling out her luggage, Klaus helping her. Most of her things had already been loaded on the plane, someone gathering her boxes earlier. Now the awkward part, saying good bye.

She gripped her handbag and turned to Klaus his face completely unreadable. She wanted to reach out and touch him but stomped down that thought. Their last fight was still fresh in her mind; they had royally messed up whatever they were. Instead she gave him a sad smile and turned to the plane but his hand was instantly around hers. Caroline stared at his loosely gripping hers, the action begging her to look at him. Familiar heat spread from his hand and over her skin.

Reluctantly she drifted away from his hand and journeyed up his body, across his stubbled face and meeting his piercing eyes. His face was still stone cold but she knew now he was wearing a mask to hide real emotion. There were so many things that could have been said but now wasn't the time. She wished things had worked out differently, so much death and pain. It scared her to know it was just beginning.

"Rebekah will be there after Christmas," he reminded her.

Caroline cringed but nodded what a joy that was going to be. Rebekah was still in her wanting to rip out Caroline's intestines phase at the moment. But she was a fish out of water where she was headed and having at least a familiar face around would be nice. Maybe once enough time had passed she could call her friends and find out where each of them ended up.

"It's Oxford, it can't be that bad." she quipped trying to lighten the mood, pulling her hand away from him.

Klaus frowned, "Don't be fooled by the academics and ancient halls."

Caroline rolled her eyes, "I'm a big girl Klaus."

With that she pulled away from him and walked up the stairwell. Her breath caught looking around the cabin; Klaus insisted that she use his family's plane for the trip the plane just big enough to make it across the Atlantic. It was magnificent completely state of the art and clean. Caroline squealed in girlish delight the first time she felt excited all day and ran to a hair sinking into the plush leather.

Looking out the window as the plane began to taxi down the tarmac she glanced and saw Klaus still standing there waiting for her to disappear from sight. His sullen face wasn't enough to sink her spirits thought; she was caught up again in the fact she was going to be moving to England. It was her time to finally see the world.


	38. Fear

**Silas finds Caroline and she runs to Klaus**

Caroline stretched her arms above her head, arching her back. She rubbed her temples in frustration over the book and notepad in front of her. Disgruntled with her lack of progress on her calculus homework, she stood up to gather her thoughts. It was a quiet night; nothing had happened for days, something that rarely happened in Mystic Falls.

She ventured into the kitchen, munchies getting the best of her. It was quiet and lonely in the house, her mom once again gone. Opening the pantry door, she welcomed the familiar squeak of the hinges. It was nice to have something else in the house make a noise, it was too quiet.

_Caroline_

She whipped around from the pantry, dropping the chip bag she had in her hand. Fangs out ready to take down the slight sound echoing off the walls. Nothing was there. It didn't stop the furious pacing of her heart, the thunderous pounding in her chest from gripping her in fear. Reaching out with her vampire hearing Caroline strained for the source of her name.

She could only hear the slight intake of the air from the central air system circulating through the house and the muffled noises of the night outside, nothing else. Caroline let a breath out, retracting her fangs.

"Get a hold of yourself Caroline; you aren't afraid of the some little noise. You're a vampire remember?" she chided herself out a loud.

The need to hear something break the silence of the room was overwhelming and gently started humming to herself boost her confidence. She bent down to retrieve her fallen snack.

"Then what do you fear Miss Forbes?"

Caroline froze mid-step, still crouched down hand crushing the chips in shock. Determined to face whatever it was that just spoke she slowly stood up trying to think through the fastest escape. Her eyes connected with a man in the room and a beautiful one at that. Caroline gulped; she knew how to handle handsome men who were devils in disguise.

He leaned casually on the counter, intensely following her every movement upward. His dark skin almost made her think he was Italian but she couldn't be sure, his eyes and hair as black as the night sky outside. Squaring her shoulders, she determined to show the intruder nothing. She was the vampire and could handle herself.

"I don't know who you are or how you know my name but I suggest you get out of my house immediately. My mom is the Sheriff and I don't do creepy stalker guys." she hissed at him.

Her fangs ached to find release again, her heightened fear driving her feral instinct to eliminate the threat. Instead she settled with the steeliest glare she could muster.

The man laughed at her actions.

"I could snap in one hand, little one. Do yourself a favor and stand down before I rip your fangs out and fashion them as necklace. Bonnie has told me so much about you; it would be a shame to mar such a pretty face."

Caroline faltered, Bonnie? Bonnie told him-

She gasped and immediately tensed, "You're Silas."

"Bravo, my dear. You've found me out. Such a smart head on your shoulders, no wonder he likes you."

Her eyes widened a fraction. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Silas was in front of her before she could blink her eyes. The adrenalin shot up her spine paralyzing her, his whole presence oozing with a power that wasn't natural even for witches. He stepped forward and she stepped back, reaching behind her for anything to grasp. She didn't know how to kill the oldest immortal being alive, let along understand why he was in her kitchen.

Glittering madness twinkled in his coal eyes as he raised a hand up and to wave his finger back and forth, "Tsk, tsk. No lying allowed little one. We both know a certain hybrid has affection for you. A certain hybrid I'm very eager to meet."

Caroline's heart sank as her backside bumped against the space behind her-the fridge. There was nothing that could help her unless….

"Please, get over yourself. Why would he ever want to know you?" Caroline spit back meeting his eyes straight on.

He smiled, "Well, aren't you saucy."

Caroline wanted to throw up. Silas drifted his gaze down her body with lustful eyes, and reached up a hand towards Caroline's hair.

"Such beauty, such intelligence, such independence; you remind me of my lost love. Change the eye color and you could be her."

Silas' eyes softened for the slightest moment at the mention of his past lover. Caroline attempted to not roll her eyes. Of course she reminded him of her. Once again a freakishly old supernatural creature was attracted to her, expect this time there was no way in hell she was going to ever return the attraction.

Caroline smiled sweetly pouring all the fake sincerity she could into her statement. "Sorry, I already have one serial killer stalker, I don't need another one."

With a hard forward thrust of her body, Caroline shoved the man as far as she could from her and ran.

Blurring out of the house, she pushed herself towards Klaus' home. The two of them might be some awkward mess of emotions but Caroline knew without a doubt the only place she would be safe was with him. But that meant running ten miles without getting caught by Silas.

There was no light; storm clouds blanketed the night sky and covered the moon's glow. Caroline shuddered. She had two options, woods or through town. The woods meant cover of darkness and the fastest path but no light from the moon meant the shadows would be thick and impenetrable for even her eye sight. Town meant the slower path but had the safety of people and light. It almost meant the risk of exposure and possible innocents in the crossfire. Without a second thought she ran into the woods, careless of the noise she was making.

No noise followed her though, but she paid no heed pressing faster to her goal. The lights of the Mikaelson Manor started to peer through the trees, after a minute and Caroline let herself breathe. But in her excitement lost her focus and promptly tripped over an unknown object in the dark.

"Ahh!" she yelped tumbling headfirst into the darkness colliding with the hard ground.

She brushed herself off and stood up, grateful there were no other sounds. Then she froze with a thought. _There was no sound at all._ No owls, no cricket lullabies, not even the eerie whistle of the wind through the pines.

"You never did answer my question. What scares you Miss Forbes?"

His voice was the solitary sound in the trees. Caroline dropped back to the ground, curling under the brush. She prayed it didn't have poison oak growing in it. Silas was as quiet as Klaus could be; he had been on her heels the whole time. Caroline clenched her eyes shut and cursed inwardly.

"Not going to answer?" He called out. The voice was to the left, far enough she had to use her supernatural hearing.

She heard him sigh, "No matter, I shall have to guess then. I do love games."

He was mocking her and it made her sick.

Silas' voice drawled on, this time closer but on the right, "I thought perhaps it was the dark that you feared, but you choose to run into the woods and not the safety of town. Smart girl, I would have just killed whoever got in my path."

Caroline peered into the black off to the right, trying to pick out where he was. She could hear nothing and that scared her.

"I can hear the pounding in your heart, it betrays you."

The dark chuckled echoed in the trees, the wind returning to carry it. It confused her as to where he really was. She thought he was standing a couple hundred feet behind her now, but she wasn't sure.

"Feel your pulse race, Miss Forbes," he taunted, "Let the fear crawl up your spine despite your efforts to push it down. You are quite the valiant fighter I must say. However your nerves are beginning to tingle in anticipation trying to guess where the next sound will come from."

A twig snapped to Caroline's left and her head twisted in that direction. Her body was betraying her just like Silas described.

"Aw, there it is. Feel that spike? Now your adrenal glands are producing your flight or fight response. Do you hide or do you run?"

Silas kept playing with her and she knew it was in an effort to discombobulate her. Caroline vehemently tried to push his words aside. She had to go get help; she wasn't going to last much longer. Silas had successfully confused her because he seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.

She tensed on all fours as slowly as she could to not betray her position. She strained her ears. All movement stopped in the dark. Even her unnaturally gifted eyesight could see nothing in the shroud of darkness.

_Breathe_ she told herself.

She risked a long breath to steady herself the exhale of her lungs to faint whisper. Between the pitch black of night and confusion as to where Silas was, she was rightfully scared. Paranoia that he was would jump out at any second paralyzed her.

"Caroline, sweet Caroline. Come out, come out where ever you are. You have such beautiful hair. Can't I run my fingers through it? It has been far too long since I have felt the touch of a woman and you do look so like my sweet love."

Caroline fought the bile in her throat. He was disgusting. It took great effort to not snap back at him. Silas had taunted her enough and she was tired of being scared. She dug into the dirt, a whistle through the trees shrilling in the night. Her heart jumped, the harshness of the mocking wind crumpling her resolve once more. She was a vampire for crying out a loud, she was tougher than this.

Caroline braced herself it was now or never. Klaus' house was almost close enough that he would be able to smell her in a few hundred yards.

_Get to Klaus. Get to Klaus. Get to Klaus._

Ignoring everything she pounced up and ran with all her strength.

She never had a chance.

Caroline was flat on her back shoved back into the dirt, a heavy body pressing against her and a hand clamped over her mouth. She fought with everything she had straining to break free.

"Caroline," the voice sternly whispered in her ear.

She stilled immediately, never so relieved to hear his husky voice in her life. It was Klaus. The pounding in her chest slowed, and she curled into his chest. She didn't care what it meant, just that he was there. He released his hand from her mouth, bringing it up to brush the hair from her face. Then Klaus' lips grazed across her forehand, the press of his lips sending her heart racing for another reason.

"You're safe, it's me."

Caroline was no longer afraid.


	39. Lost and Found Part I

**Hey guys I know I haven't post the Awkward Klaroline and I'm sorry about that. Things are a bit crazy right now and I haven't been able to write them like I planned. I am in the middle of moving and drabble updates will be very sporadic for the next week and a half. **

**But this is the first part of the standard episode reaction drabble. _post 4x16 Caroline visits Klaus after her brush with death by Elena's hand. _**

It was the incessant pounding on his door that woke him from his sleep. Sleep that was not peacefully, Caroline's voice either taunting him or whispering promises of pleasure into his ear. Rousing from his bed, Klaus grabbed a pair of pants, dressing himself and approached the door.

It had to be close to three thirty in the morning, whoever it was at his door, better have a good reason for waking him or he was going to unburden them of an organ. What he did not expect was Caroline. In his deepest dreams, yes, but in those dreams she was not covered in dried blood, wood scraps, and tears.

He ushered her in without a word, a frown on his face. "Caroline, what's wrong?"

Klaus gently closed the door behind, pausing for a moment to ensure he wasn't dreaming. Her next words were most certainly words that he had never dreamt of.

"I need you to train me," she sniffed out.

It had been clear she had been in a serious altercation and it had affected her greatly. Klaus raised his eyebrows and crossed his hands across his bare chest. Caroline didn't even seem to notice his semi-undressed appearance. Her eyes were dancing with raging blue flames, the sight jolting Klaus into full alertness.

Tilting his head, he slowly took one step forward. He wanted to know what was going on. "While I appreciate you thinking of me for this endeavor, what spurned this idea?"

"Nothing that you need to do know about."

Caroline stood rigid, hands frozen at her sides and her mouth in a tight line as she glared at Klaus. In return he matched her glare; he would tear the heart out of those who dared hurt her.

"Caroline…" he tried again.

She promptly cut him off. "I am not telling you. Okay? Now are you willing to do this or not?"

He nodded, never having his eyes leave her face. Klaus was waiting for some clue of what had passed. He assumed since she would not share the information it no doubt had to do with her circle of friends that she blindly clung to. With a heavy sigh, Klaus shrugged his shoulders. "It can be arranged. Come tomorrow when you can. We will begin then."

Caroline nodded, refusing to show any other emotion. Turning back to the door, Klaus could hear her release a shaky sigh all the more intrigued about her incident and why it brought about an early morning visit. As she enclosed her hand around the doorknob she stopped. Whipping around Klaus was surprised to see her eyes darkened and fangs out, ready to pounce.

Klaus watched as she furiously scanned the room, looking for someone. His stomach dropped just slightly.

"Where is she?" she snarled.

All grief and pain were gone her face replaced only with unadulterated rage. The passionate fury combined with her vampiric features was terrifying and beautiful, an instant turn on for him. However, Klaus was not expecting that reaction. He had assumed since Hayley had been in on the whole situation with his hybrids that Caroline was on good terms with her. Perhaps Tyler had transgressed after all.

"Where is who, love?"

He wanted to keep watching those lovely fangs snarl at him. So he leaned up against the doorframe, reveling in the display.

Caroline growled at him. Any other time and he would be upset with the situation, but this was Caroline. "Don't mess with me and don't call me love. Where's Hayley? I can smell that little were-slut."

He merely arched a brow and pushed off the doorframe to settle himself in a chair. Trying to hide a sly a grin, he pressed his fingers to his lips. Caroline looked as if she was about rip apart the house.

Klaus calmly stated, "You needn't worry about her, she has already left."

Caroline's fangs flared once more before she breathed in deeply and they retracted. Klaus watched her attempt calm her trembling hands, the anger trying it's best to escape any hatch it could find. If this was all it took to get Caroline to have a reaction to him, he'd arrange it where he would find some woman to sleep with and have Caroline walk in. He smirked to himself; Hayley had been useful in more ways than he anticipated. But the words Caroline fired back at him were not the jealous ones he had hoped for.

"Are you kidding me right now? You let her live after what she did to your hybrids? So what she gets a free pass but Tyler doesn't?"

Anger pricked at his eyes at the mention of Tyler's name. Of course this was about Tyler. It was always was with her. "She has other uses," he growled out.

Caroline rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Like what, keeping your sheets nice and toasty? I can smell your nasty little fling. This entire place smells like sex, it's nauseating. "

There were the fighting words he was looking for. Klaus pulled himself out of the chair stalking towards at his full height, a devil grin on his face. Caroline finally seemed to take note of his bare chest and he twitched his lips a bit further at the sight of red blush spreading down her neck.

"Jealous?" he drawled out.

He pushed towards her until he was standing in her personal locking eyes with her. Caroline not once backed down from his approach. The muscles in her cheek were twitching with effort, trying not to stare at the revealed skin, but she was caught. Her eyes drifted across his torso, face softening just slightly. But at the last minute she forced herself to glance away. His grin grew further, she was jealous-at least she was visibly affected by his physical appearance.

"Nope." Caroline bit out after another beat.

Her voice squeaked on the last note, her body betraying her inner thoughts she wished to keep hidden. Klaus felt his ego swell in pride, it wasn't physical confirmation but her body was reacting to his and she was furiously trying to hide that. It would be enough for now; he would not push her further. It was the way their little game worked; she had yielded more than enough information already. Klaus wouldn't get anything else from her on that front. Instead he pushed for another tactic.

"Why then do you care so much about her presence?"

Without missing a beat Caroline responded, "She snapped my neck."

The venom in her voice was irrefutable. The twinkle in his eyes dropped, the natural blackness glinting out as his own blood boiled. Though Caroline was not his yet, it grated at him to know she had been hurt. His face clenched, he still needed Hayley for information.

Caroline picked up on the twitch in his jaw. A wide sneer grew on her face, "Not so pleasant now, is she? Serves you right."

"She is a wolf and I am the alpha. She submitted to me. "

Caroline just gave him a blank stare and rolled her eyes. "Whatever I can't even bring myself to care right now. This is just too much for me," she started towards the door, "Forget what I said about training me. I'll figure something else out. I can't even stand to be in the same room with you with her smell here."

She grabbed the door, throwing it open with a violent thrust but Klaus stopped her, blurring over and slamming the door shut again. His face was inches from hers the harshness of her words writing pain on his face. Caroline glowered at him, not caring about the pain she inflicted.

"Let me make it up to you," he pleaded in a tight voice.

Caroline turned to the door, tightly gripping the doorknob. Her whole body began to shake with emotion as she tried to formulate the right words to say to him. Klaus watched her open her mouth to say something, her head turning back to him. The kind warmth that he relished so much from her flickered at the back of her eyes. Klaus let himself break the hard line of his mouth into the tiniest of smirks.

Caroline's hand released the doorknob and she turned to face him. Klaus felt his heart soar; hopefully of what she was about to say but her words cut that hope instantly.

"No. You do not get a free pass. You let Hayley into your life but you refuse to let Tyler live. I don't care what feelings I have for you. I have more self worth than that. You are being nothing but a hypocrite and it's disgusting."

It was brutal honesty and by now he expected nothing less from her, but how it hurt. The slicing of her words cutting deep into the part he opened to her. The depth of the wound hurt more than he cared to admit. The flare of rage clawed at him, begging to be released. But it was all quelled by her admission.

Caroline Forbes just admitted that she cared for him. It just wasn't her body language anymore but actual words. He was elated and crushed in the same moment. Crushed, for the words were tainted by her accusation; he was a hypocrite and disgusting.

After everything he had done for her, she still would not give him the chance. Klaus clenched the door in restraint, he need her to say it again. He needed to know the words she had just spoken were real, not a ploy.

"So you are jealous," he responded lightly to hide his true emotions.

Caroline's face exploded in red fury. "Did you not pay attention to anything I said?" she snarled at him.

It wasn't a denial of her words though, and Klaus would take it. If that was all he was going to get for now, he'd have it. Locking the words safely in his guarded heart, his eyes flickered from warm to cold. He was tired of being beat down by her.

Tilting his head, Klaus inched closer to her and could hear the acceleration of her heart erratically pounding in her chest. Good, he wanted her to feel something. "You refuse to me a chance, why should I give you one?"

"Stop acting like a wounded puppy Klaus and get over yourself," she snapped back.

Klaus snapped. Blurring her back to the door, Caroline was suddenly pinned underneath him-fury matching fury. The heat radiating between them was elevating the room to a stifling temperature and the rage in both their eyes fueling the other. She made him livid but their flying words made him feel more alive than he had since the last time he held her. It was always that way with her; she sparked the vitality of life in him and made him feel more. Something he both hated and loved.

He pressed himself closer, his lips dangerously hovering against hers. Their breath mingled, Caroline tilting her lips towards him. Her eyes were lidded and clouding over. Klaus wondered if it was consciously done.

"Have a care what you say. I could easily tear your heart out." he whispered gently, his breath tickling her lips.

It was enough movement to break Caroline from her lust driven daze. Her eyes rolling at his comment, as she placed a hand on his chest to push him back from her. His whole body blazed as her outstretched hand attempted to push him back. Klaus wouldn't let her, the simple touch of her hand on his chest deriving more heat than all the feminine touches he had received in the past millennium.

Caroline was as shocked as he was, the sizzle of electricity between them palpable. Dropping her hand from his chest, Caroline looked down at her feet to avoid his face and his body. Klaus heard her struggling to catch her breath and watched the slight tremor in the hand that touched him; she was just as affected by the simple touch.

His male pride and libido swelled at his physical ability to throw her. Caroline stubbornly raised her face again, chin gutting out at him, the picture of defiance. "Yeah, like you should have torn out Hayley's? Your threats don't work on me anymore. "

Then she shoved him with all her might, and Klaus let her. Never had anyone spoken to him so and lived but all he could do was watch her in absolute fascination. It was incredible to watch someone so young be so stubborn and powerful. It made him all the more attracted to her.

Caroline seized the doorknob again and this time Klaus let her open the door. She turned back to him, a certain sadness spelled across her face. "Until you grow up, don't bother. I'm done here."

It was an ultimatum.

Without even thinking he grabbed her wrist and held her tight. Caroline was forced to turn round and look at him. He could only see the grief and pain now, her face reflecting the emotions he felt as well. How she was holding it together, he didn't understand.

"I will never give up on you." he growled out in a low voice.

Caroline's wrist hung limply in his hand, her body slumping forward. "I know."

He could not understand. She refused and betrayed him over and over again, more than anyone who lived to tell the tale. Yet both of them continued to go to each other, drawn by some unseen force it seemed; both having feelings for the other, feelings she willfully refused to act on.

"What must I do to earn your forgiveness?" he asked.

"Let Tyler live."

There it was the true heart of the situation. She would never give up on his ungrateful excuse of a hybrid anymore than he would give up on her. He could not understand her need to constantly defend him, when Tyler had done nothing but make it his life's mission to end his maker's. He would not yield to Tyler. It was a mockery and an insult. It would give Caroline then chance to run back to the little wolf.

Klaus dropped her wrist, "No," he coldly promised.

Caroline turned back to him one last time eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"Then you've lost me before you even had me."

Then she disappeared into the night without a backward glance in his direction. Klaus stared out into the darkness for a long time, willing Caroline to come back.

He had to find her again.

He could not lose her.


	40. Lost and Found Part II

**Second Part of the 4x16 reaction drabble. Caroline has the most unexpected prom night thanks to Klaus. **

Caroline slowly patted the curls round her head, trying to look happier than she felt. It was prom night after all. The beauty queen was in front of her vanity, curls twisted on her head in a delicate fashion, the pale blue of her dress highlighting the fairness of her skin and the gold sine of her hair. Senior prom, the night of nights of high school and all she could do was sit there staring at herself feeling absolutely alone and broken.

All she wanted to do was cry because she was not okay. Her downward spiral cast her further down the rabbit hole as time went on-the light at the top rapidly disappearing. Tyler was gone. Elena refused to talk to her, and Bonnie….that was whole other can of worms that she couldn't think about without feeling horribly guilty.

Stefan was her only lifeline because after swearing off Klaus, he had thrown all three of them together in the battle with Silas. However much she tried to ignore the hybrid the man had a string on her heart that pulled her towards him, liking and hating him in equal parts.

A soft knock rapped on her door, Caroline looking in her mirror to see her mother walk in. Liz's smile disappeared seeing the saddened downward cast of her daughter's eyes.

"You can stay home if you want. I can take off work and we can watch your favorite movie." she whispered softly, unsure of what her daughter was feeling.

Caroline nodded stiffly before shaking her head, replacing the frown with a small smile. "Thanks Mom but is its prom. I'm going. Matt should be in a few minutes. I'll be okay and have a fabulous night."

She knew there was no sincerity behind her words, but she didn't want her mom to stay home on her account. She could handle this, she walk onto that dance floor with Matt on her arm, two best friends who in the end were there for each other.

The chime of the doorbell went off sending Caroline's stomach into a pitfall. She really just wanted to crawl into her bed and watch the Notebook and think on better days. But the cheer captain not showing for the prom? Unheard of. Caroline glanced towards her mom.

Liz smiled, "Don't worry, I'll get it."

Caroline gave her a true smile then, relieved that she could push of the inevitability of the night just a little further. She closed her eyes listening to the scrap of the front door across the floor as Liz opened it.

"Matt?" there was a pregnant pause, "I don't understand, why aren't you dressed?"

Caroline's eyes snapped open in alarm, rushing out of the room. She was confused to see Matt standing at the door in his regular clothes, not the in the suit and the coordinating tie he was supposed to be in. Matt caught Caroline's eyes on her mother's shoulder. "Care, I…"

His words trailed off and Caroline approached closer to the door. Panic began to set in, not understanding what was going on. Instead of providing any further explanation, Matt step aside to reveal none other than Tyler. Caroline felt her face light up at the sight of his face but the same emotion she usually felt for him wasn't there.

"Tyler!" she called out rushing towards him, throwing herself into his arms. She leaned into kiss him, knowing all she needed was a kiss to feel everything again, but Tyler backed away before she could touch his lips. He titled his head down, not letting his eyes meet hers.

Caroline stood there more confused now than ever. "What's wrong?"

Tyler didn't answer. Caroline's eyes bugged out, "Wait, how are you here? Klaus will-"

"Klaus is why I'm here." He raised his head, sullen guilt all over his face.

Caroline scrunched her eyebrows, none of this was making sense and the inner panic was starting to rise again. She worried that Klaus had done something again and she was going to have to go back and yell at him. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

Tyler shifted his feet, turning his head to look anywhere but at her face. "He found me Care, but he didn't kill me. The bastard is letting me come back. I don't know what you did but thank you."

Tyler stopped, closing his mouth. Caroline could tell there was more to the story. She watched him huff a couple times, as if he was gathering his courage to admit something.

"He found me within two weeks and told me I was free."

"Are you kidding me?" she bellowed. It was instantaneous, all her pent up emotion from the past month and a half bursting at that single statement. She was completely livid and for once not at Klaus, well no she was mad at him too, but at that moment all her anger was directed at the boy in front of her.

"Why didn't you come back? I've waited for you. Do you realize what hell I have gone through all this time? Leaving Matt the deed of the house, telling me you were never coming back…"

Tyler went back to shuffling his feet and avoiding her gaze. Caroline's eyes burned into his skull, no longer caring about the prom, only trying to understand what the hell had happened.

"I have the feeling I'm not going to like what you are about to say." she finally managed to spit out, arms crossed over her chest. Thankfully her mother and Matt had disappeared somewhere into the house and out of sight.

"I can't stay Care."

"Excuse me, you come all this way to say hi, Klaus freed me but I can't stay sorry?," she snipped, "Wait did he compel you?"

Tyler shook his head, finally meeting her eyes again, cringing at the sternness of her face. "I had a hard time wanting to come back."

It took everything Caroline had not to rip his head off, but Tyler continued before she could speak.

"I found a pack up north. They need me Care. They took me in and now I'm their leader, they look up to me. I don't have that here. I gave Matt the house to protect you and him, take it. It's the last best thing I can do for you."

Caroline didn't know whether to cry or rage. She decided she was too angry to cry. It was all about his pack again, she should have known it would come down to this.

"But I need you." she retorted.

Tyler finally looked straight into her eyes for the first time since his arrival. He smirked and shook his head, "That's the one thing that you don't need. You have no life with me. I'm a wolf, Caroline and we both know in the end it would never work. You'd be dead within a year living with a pack. Wolves don't like vampires. They'd never take you in, even if you were mine."

Caroline crumpled inside, but surprisingly it hurt a lot less then she thought it would. In fact calmness settled over her heart at his words. She was never going to be enough for him and there was no point in trying any longer. It was time to move on; the memory of their relationship could no longer be her crutch from accepting the world around her.

Tyler peered at her with his dark eyes, sighing when she continued to give him no response. Leaning forward he gently kissed her on the cheek before backing away, "Good-bye Caroline."

Standing there in her beautiful ball gown, Caroline was left on the porch too hurt by Tyler's actions to move. It was Matt's gentle voice calling her from behind that woke her from her trance, realizing at some point she had started to cry, fat splotches staining her dress. Caroline turned to Matt, seeing her mother standing further off in the house, both of them wearing concerned frowns.

Caroline couldn't take it. Ignoring both of them she rushed past them into her room, closing her door. Leaning against the closed door, her whole body began to shake with wracking sobs. She didn't care if anyone heard her.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror Caroline saw darkened stains on her dress, mascara running down her cheeks. She hated it; furiously she attacked the zipper on the side of her body. She never wanted to be anywhere near the school, near any reminder of Tyler.

Searching through her closest she ran her fingers across the various fabrics trying to find something to wear that would make her feel pretty again. Strumming along her thoughts kept fixating on the fact Tyler had know for a couple weeks that he was safe and never bothered to contact her.

Instantly her body froze, clutching her clothes in a tight grip. Her mind settled on that night at Klaus' home. He had asked her what he needed to do to make it up to her.

"_What must I do to earn your forgiveness?" he asked._

"_Let Tyler live."_

The words burned in her mind, paralyzing Caroline. That meant- without out another thought Caroline grabbed the closest dress she laid her hands on, throwing it over head and shimming it down her body. Racing to the mirror, she wiped the tears from her face, quickly dabbing more makeup on to make herself presentable.

Opening the door, she saw both Matt and her mom on the couch, both looking at her in surprise at her appearance. Matt stood up and walked over to her, giving her a tight hug.

"What can we do for you? I'll do whatever you need me to Care."

Caroline felt her heart flutter at the undying compassion of her friend. A bright smiled graced her features, comforted by his concern.

"I'm okay, really. I need to go do something, something I should have done a long time ago," she said brightly.

Matt furrowed his brow, nodding reluctantly. Caroline squeezed him once more, before dashing out into the night. She reached her car, before deciding it would be faster if she ran. Blurring off, she headed towards the Mikaelson manor with all her supernatural speed.

The run gave her time to collect her racing thoughts, the pounding in her heart not from running but the overwhelming amount of emotions. But the lights of the manor appeared before she could decide what she was going to say to him, the thoughts were such a jumble in her head.

Stepping up to the house, she rapped on the door just twice before the door was flung open by Klaus, the sight of boxes and moving supplies all around him.

"Caroline, now really isn't the best time, love," he said tiredly but letting her into the house none the less.

Caroline nodded not trusting her mouth; the sight of him squashed all prepared sentences in her head. He stood there tilting his head, hands behind his back waiting for her to speak. Caroline flustered under his gaze, understanding of his actions for the past month and a half putting things into perspective.

In a flurry of emotion all she could think was two words, the words slipping from her mouth, "Thank you."

Klaus frowned slightly, but his eyes lit up. He was remaining guarded, not that Caroline blamed him after the words she had thrown in his direction. Her tongue though remained glued to the top of her mouth, unable to say anything else. It was too raw and real and there was so much that had happened she didn't know the right words to say.

She shifted from one foot to the other, Klaus stalking towards her his face remaining cold and empty.

"I take it then Tyler has finally decided to grace us with his presence, " were the bitter words from his mouth.

Caroline managed to nod her head, never letting her eyes leave his. It was so easy now to look at him and not falter under his gaze when he was aiming to look dead inside.

He stood there for minute before nodding his head in silent affirmation. "You've said your piece, now leave me be. As you can see I have lots of packing to do. You have your precious boyfriend back. But sweetheart I give you one warning, and this will be my only warning. If he so much as crosses me once I will kill me instantly. "

Klaus moved towards the door, opening it to let her back outside but Caroline did not budge from her spot. Their eyes locked, trying to stare down the other but Caroline refused to back down. She needed to know why.

"All this time you never said anything to me," she bluntly told him.

She watched his hands tightened around the door, slowly crushing the wood in his fingertips, splinters pricking his skin and scenting the air faintly with his blood.

"I asked what I needed to do to earn your forgiveness. Now please Caroline, let me be," he growled out.

Klaus was adamant about her leaving the house, his hand still gesturing her towards the door. Caroline refused to let him sway her by a silent tantrum. Walking over to him, she stood right in his face, placing her hand over his and applying pressure to the specific spot on his wrist that instantly forced his fingers to let go of the door.

She watched his eyes widened in surprise at her besting his strength, letting her grab the door and shut it, blocking out the night.

"He's already left."

The mask dropped, uncertainty clouding his face. Caroline waited for him to respond, hoping he would say anything but he remained silent.

"All this time," she breathed words coming out at a slow pace trying to collect her thoughts as she went, "You let me yell at you. I said I hated you. Then when Stefan had us work together about Silas you still said nothing when you were…"

She left the words be unspoken neither of them wanting to recount their run in with Silas. His eyes pierced into her and Caroline felt heat tingling across her whole body except this time she had no guilt associated with it. Her eyes flickered across his face taking in every inch of him, blatant in her movements, letting her blue eyes settle on his lips before glancing back up at his stormy ones.

Caroline felt her breath hitch at the intensity of his gaze, she might be able to handle his cold stares with ease but the raw power of emotion enveloping her from him was enough to make her knees buckle and want to never leave his side.

Shifting her head upwards, Caroline watched him lick his full lips and she was lost but apparently so was he. Muttering under his breath, Caroline was able to pick up "bloody hell" before he closed the gap between them, grabbing her face in his hands, capturing her lips in his.

Her heartbeat pulsed erratically, the sinful movement of his lips undoing her, Caroline grasping onto to him craving more of his mouth, his smell, his everything. It was untamed fury of emotions drowning each other. Klaus' hand slid down from her face to her side and anchoring her flush against his body. She could feel every line of him, his shape making her heady and lightheaded.

His tongue pressed her lips for entrance, Caroline granting him what he wanted, the warmth of exploring her mouth. It was everything and more, a sense of completeness she had not felt before. She couldn't decide if she wanted her hands on his chest, in the curls of his hair, or against the stubble on his face. Determined to claim all of him she moved over his body in desperate fervor, Klaus mirroring her, flashing her against the door, rolling his body down hers.

Caroline gasped in his mouth and felt him smirk against her lips. When his hand reached up under her shirt to caress the skin beneath and trail hot, biting kisses down her neck, Caroline finally had a moment of clarity.

She just had closure with Tyler. If this was going to work with Klaus she needed to sort everything out in her heart. Right now she was acting own pure pent up lust and emotion; there was no heads or tails of it.

"No." she called out, pushing him away from her, moaning at the lost of his heat.

Klaus growled at her, his labored breathing matching her pants. Caroline tried to calm herself, giving him a genuine smile before speaking, "Not yet, okay? I'm not ready for all of this."

She gestured between them, "You are...well you, and if I'm going to do this I need to be ready."

Klaus' face had stiffened again, the tight line of his mouth failing, his lips swollen from kissing her. Closing the distance between them, Klaus played with one of the ruined curls Caroline had done for a dance she never attended.

"I won't lose you again," the faint sound came from his mouth.

It was the most vulnerable statement she had heard from him and it tossed her insides around more than they already were and had the strongest urge to pull his lips down to hers again. But she had to do this right, he was the one person who she had always been enough for and she wanted that desperately.

Closing her eyes to not be tempted by his face, she sternly stated, "And I need to understand everything going through my head."

Klaus was relentless though, placing soft kisses on her the sides of her mouth, across her jaw line towards her ear. "Come with me. It's New Orleans, the supernatural safe haven of the world."

Caroline titled her head back enjoying the treatment he was giving her. She shook her head, placing her hand on his chest like she had weeks before.

"I can't, not yet."

Klaus growled, Caroline feeling it through her whole body, "I don't think you heard me love, I won't lose you."

Caroline smiled cupping the side of his face, running a finger over his fine gold stubble. "You won't, you'll find me when the time is right."

She placed another kiss on his lips before slipping out of his grasp and out the door. She felt happier and lighter than she had all year. Bringing her fingers to her lips, she recalled the touch of his on hers, the swollen plumpness sure to last for a few hours. There was never anything lost that couldn't be found again and one day he would find her and then, she would be ready.


	41. Terrible Person

**Reaction drabble for 4x17. Picks up right after Caroline stomps away at the end of the episode when Klaus tells her to go seek comfort elsewhere.**

He was bastard. How dare he say that to her?

She stomped away from him, the dirt still clinging to her hands. Tears were threatening to spill over and lips quivering. Caroline wanted to claw his eyes out, she just willingly turned to him, twice in the span of twenty-hours and he just shut her out.

Why did she give him the chance?

Caroline moved faster, still at a human speed, unwilling to arrive home too soon. She just wanted to be anywhere that wasn't near Klaus. Her hair clouded around her face, blonde wisps catching on her lips and darkening from tears that were now slipping over.

She killed twelve people.

Klaus words stung in her ears, twelve people to save one. Her mind fired back, _this was Bonnie_. She had to save Bonnie, but Silas and the all the hell he promised, what would happen now? Gut wrenching guilt stabbed Caroline and she doubled over on the forest floor, dropping into the muddy earth.

She was a horrible person. She acted blindly and now, and now…It was too much too handle. She didn't even see their faces, but the sound of their bodies dropping with a sickening crunch taunted her mind. Caroline curled up, tucking her knees up to her chest, hugging herself tightly. In the haze of pain and grief her accusatory sentence to Klaus from earlier drifted to her mind.

She was no better than Klaus and still had yelled at him, wounding him. No wonder he wouldn't hug her when she wanted him the most. He was the one person she knew that could empathize and yet she called him the terrible person. Who was she to call him a monster yet not be willing to accept her own actions?

What a hypocrite, all her speeches, all her defenses, how truly the same she and Klaus were. Yet as she lay on the forest floor, she could not find herself willing to go back to him. The guilt was too strong.

Could she turn it off? She wanted too but that meant becoming like Elena and she refused to become like Elena. She saw what turning her humanity off did and she did not want to go down that path.

There had to be something else she could do, make the pain disappear. It didn't matter if she could be ageless and fearless; she just killed twelve people and started the domino effect of the apocalypse in one terrible swift blow.

Maybe she should just end it all. It was clear that Klaus wasn't going to give her the time of day after the stunt she had pulled and just when she thought she could satisfy her need to be in his arms. The word _hypocrite_ drifted back into her mind.

Yes, she would end it all.

Caroline picked herself out of the ground, her guilt overriding any rational thought process. Brushing leaves and clumps of dirt off her face with the back of her hand, Caroline sniffed back her tears determination set in.

Her father's words from so long ago calling her a monster and telling her she had to be fixed drifted to the forefront of her mind. Oh she would fix it now; she'd just take herself out of the equation. She'd be the best little daughter, finally fulfilling her daddy's wishes.

Caroline spied the ground around her, grabbing the nearest piece of wood she could find. She eyed it over once, shrugging her shoulders. It was nothing much but it would do, it's not like she would feel much pain after jabbing into her heart.

The crunch of the innocents falling pounded in her mind, the sound still very fresh. Taking a deep breath, Caroline closed her eyes, grasping her hands tightly around the makeshift stake. It rested lightly on her skin, the tip of the stick gently boring into her skin yet not breaking the alabaster flesh. Then with a dramatic thrust of her arms, Caroline shoved the stick forward towards her heart.

There was no pain.

In fact there was nothing at all, but the sound of labored breathing. Caroline opened her eyes to see an enraged Klaus before her, gripping her hands tightly, the stake never breaking her skin.

"No, you don't get to take the easy way out of this," he growled out.

All the feelings of wanting to gauge his eyes out came flooding back. Klaus tossed the stick away with a vile frown. She snarled her own ferocious growl, beast confronting beast. "I can do what I please, now let go of my hands."

Klaus winched, trying to shift his weight from one knee to other. Caroline watched the movement, her interest piqued as to why he was acting so-the smell of blood finally hurt hit her nose. She panicked, wrenching her hands out of his and dropping the stake.

Whipping around to the source of the smell, she noticed the dark stain on his back, fresh blood seeping into his clothes and down his back. Caroline eyed him, baffled.

"Silas," he grunted, standing with great effort.

The sinking guilt came back, the words _terrible person_ mocking her. This was her fault, and if Klaus died….she couldn't continue with that thought. She wasn't ready to think about it, she had confessed too much today as it was.

Caroline shuddered over the knowledge he could he hurt and then came round to his front again. His eye's reached hers, trapping her. Eyes learning every word she couldn't say out loud, it seemed to be their way after all. The communicated more with their bodies then they ever did with words, their words were just as important.

"Caroline," he warned in a gruff voice.

Caroline snapped out of his trance, suddenly knowing how she could make the guilt go away. She could fix this and it didn't mean taking herself out of the equation. No, she would make amends for what she had done and that started with curing Klaus from whatever happened between him and Silas.

"Which way is your house?" she asked, rubbing away all trace of tears from her face.

Klaus jerked his thumb over his shoulder and Caroline started off. Noticing Klaus wasn't following after a minute, she turned back.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked, arms folded across her chest. She desperately wanted to give nothing more away to him.

Klaus furrowed his brow, steadily approaching her. She could see a multitude of emotions storming about his face, none of which were happy.

"I told you to go find someone else," he sneered.

"Yeah, well we don't always get what we want," she snipped back.

Caroline started marching off again, freezing only slightly when she felt his warm hand brush across the tops of her knuckles as he came up next to her. She didn't turn to face him or acknowledge his subtle gesture. It seemed he didn't want to either; he just kept walking forward jaw clenched to mask his pain.

They were both too hurt and lost in their own feelings to take comfort and own up to their actions. But suddenly Caroline didn't feel like such a terrible person anymore. Somehow being around Klaus made the pain a little less and that was enough comfort for the moment.


	42. Brave New World

**Anon request: Caroline as Queen of the Vampires**

***This is much different than anything else I have written but I had tons of fun writing it. Told from the perspective of a newly created vampire. **

It was the smell of fresh air that awoke him, a crisp sweet air. A smell he had not had the joy of having since he was a little boy. Fluttering his eyes open, he was puzzled by the sight above him, the domed ceiling in the style of years gone by, décor that only museums displayed now.

Struggling to understand what on earth happened, he rubbed a calloused hand over his eyes hoping the motion would alert his body to what took place. Nothing came to mind. Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed a wisp of gold hair belonging to a woman sitting in a chair across the room.

Shooting up from the couch he was laying on, he fumbled over himself and crashed to the ground. He grunted as his pot belly cushioned his fall, the woman sitting in her chair stifling a small giggle behind her fingers. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, her long creamy legs crossed at the ankles running up before being tucked underneath a pale blue dress, the dress hugging more delicate curves of her lithe form.

He gulped, noticing her shoulders bare as the collar of the dress wrapped high around her neck framing a face he would never a forget. He had seen that face before, as a child when he was in school but he couldn't peg it. It was then that it hit him, "You-you…I can't believe….you're her aren't you?"

It was rushed and stumbled out, he was tripping all over his words understanding who he was sitting in the room with. He had such the school boy crush her as a child.

The woman smiled brightly, "I'm not sure what you mean, but my name is Caroline. Why don't you tell me yours?"

"Troy Fischer, reporter for the United," he shot out in one breath.

He knew his mouth was hanging open but he didn't care, the awe of the moment was too strong. She existed- if she existed then that meant her mate was alive as well, the hybrid. Troy scratched his balding head in wonderment.

"You're alive? I thought everyone had died out after the last war. I mean you are the reason, I mean to say is…"

Caroline's smiled dropped a little, standing up from the chair the train of her dress trailing behind her. She crossed the room towards the glass wall on the far side, gazing out at the world outside the room. Troy followed behind her too lost to do anything else.

He followed her gaze, finally realizing where he was. The world outside was nothing but blue sky and white clouds, peaceful and serene. There was no sign of land, no sign of the city, and no sign of the utter destruction below them. Light glinted off the chrome metal outside; ships flying in and out of the cloud bank from the dark of space above to the crowed cities below. Only the wealthiest of people could afford to live this high up, only they could afford the clean air and luxury. Anyone else who wanted to have the experience of clean air had to leave Earth for terra formed colonies across space and even that was expensive for most.

But she only looked to be about eighteen, no more than twenty at most, the light catching her face and reflecting beautiful skin that did not know harshness of the world below.

"It's rude to stare," she commented, not looking at him, her eyes still fixated on some speck in the distance.

"But you are so young looking? How can you afford this place?" he asked. He knew the answers but that did not stop him from asking.

Caroline stiffened, lips drawing in a tight line. "Do not be fooled by appearances."

Troy nodded; it really was her, queen of the vampires, the last remaining queen of Earth. Troy scratched his head again, trying to remember his history from grade school. Vampires had come into power after the twenty-eight century after they saved the world from the immortal Silas.

"You must be what at least 2,000 years old?" he spoke before realizing the words were spoken aloud.

Caroline grimaced, "You don't ask a lady her age. I'm starting to regret saving you, my husband thought I should just leave you but I couldn't. But in answer to your question, I am 2,457 years old."

Troy's mouth dropped open again. It seemed to be the permanent expression he was going to wear around this woman. But then he back tracked on her words suddenly, saved him? How had she saved him? He tilted his head to the side trying to remember. He couldn't. "Wait, what happened to me?"

Caroline groaned, "I hate it when this happens. You would think after all this time I would get used to it but nope every time, ugh."

Walking over to a small fridge on the far side of the lounge she pulled out a bag of red liquid, Troy watching her and instantly feeling an intense hunger as he saw the bag clutched in her hand. A piercing pain shot through his gums, as the aging man felt his teeth elongate and his eyes clouding over in deep redness. The sweet smell perfumed the air from the bag she was holding and Troy held himself back with every ounce of restraint wanting the bag desperately.

Caroline smirked at his reaction, tossed it towards him; Troy caught it in a clean stroke. He ripped open the top and tipped the contents into his mouth. As he greedily sucked down the liquid Caroline sat down with a bored expression, her eyes flicking to the door as if waiting for someone to come in.

Troy was too consumed in his thirst to notice a man walk into the room, his hands clasped behind his back and a devilish grin plastered on his face. As Troy finally finished his bag, the redness receded and his vision cleared allowing him to clearing see around the room. He jumped startled to see the man staring adoringly at Caroline.

The newcomer tore his gaze from Caroline, his face dropping into a cold mask that chilled Troy's insides. Troy's breath caught on something in his throat, the black of the man's eyes suffocating him-so this must be Niklaus Mikaelson.

"So this is the man that I said not to bother with?" he asked glancing over Troy taking in his frumpy appearance.

Troy could tell the question was directed at Caroline, as she stood up to join Klaus' side resting her chin on his shoulder. "He is seriously standing right here and still hasn't figure it out."

Troy watched Klaus give Caroline a mocking glare, to which Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Meet Troy Fischer and he is a reporter. It's been a long time since we have had a reporter in out ranks."

Klaus growled, turning slightly to Caroline. "There is a reason why, sweetheart."

Caroline's shoulders slumped forward, pursing her lips at Klaus. "Yeah well, you can always try again, besides that was over two hundred years ago. Get over it."

She scoffed at him and removed her chin from his shoulder, turning to Troy. "Do you remember at all what happened last night?"

Troy furrowed his brow trying to recollect his last memory, there had been dinner and walking in the crowded tunnel, seeing a woman about to be attacked by some man, rushing at the attacker, searing pain, and then blackness. He continued to mull over the events that happened since he woke up to find himself in one of the richest homes on the planet. Blood, he drank blood and liked it, that was what had been in the bag. He didn't even realize it until after the fact which meant-

"Oh frack I'm done for. My wife hates vampires." he held his hand up to his forehead dazed, trying to find the couch he had woken up on. His legs hit the back of the couch and he crumpled onto it.

Klaus was chuckling, "Well it would appear that you have a brain after all. Didn't think that most reporters these days had much of one after the rubbish I see printed everywhere. You can just always drain your wife in the next argument."

"Klaus, give him a break he is still trying to process everything," Caroline snapped out.

"I'm merely making an observation, love. No need to get defensive," he smoothly retorted.

Troy watched the two interact, too shocked to do anything else. The two continued their banter, the words rolling on their tongues so easily it could have been mistaken for a well rehearsed dance. He was sitting in the room with the two most powerful people, well supernaturals, on Earth and they were bickering back and forth ignorant of his presence.

Suddenly they were in each other's faces, still carrying on and Troy didn't even bother to keep up. He watched the dark glinting maniac of Klaus' eye twitch madly as Caroline called him a jerk, a word Troy wasn't familiar with but the word seemed to be negative, based on the redness creeping up Klaus' neck at the sound.

Just when Troy thought Klaus was going to burst from his body and lash out dangerously, Caroline stopped mid-sentence grabbing the man by the front of his shirt crushing her lips on his in a ferocious strength. Troy watched long enough to see Klaus return with equal passion, wrapping his hands in Caroline's waves, before Troy felt out of place and resorted to staring up at the ceiling.

Trying to block out the sound of their physical display Troy imagined if they had been human, Caroline could have been old enough to his daughter. The idea shook him, a small shudder escaping his lips the sound loud enough to break the two across the room.

Caroline blushed deep red, apologizing profusely from Klaus' shoulder her face buried in him. Klaus glanced over at Troy with a cold glare that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Welcome to the afterlife, mate. It's a brave new world now for you."

Klaus walked out of the room without as much as a backwards glance at Troy. Caroline was left alone with him again. The older vampire approached him and stood in his face, all the kindness and warmth gone looking much like the man who had just left.

Caroline's eyes narrowed dangerously. "We need a reporter, but if I catch wind of you printing something that endangers my family, I will rip your heart out myself. Do you I make myself clear?"

Troy nodded, fearfully. Caroline's face instantly brightened. "Good now that we got that out of the way. You said you had a wife? We should probably call her and let you know what happened. When I turned I didn't have the support of my family. It's probably better we get this over with quickly. Then I will direct you to feeding spots or you can opt for the synthetic blood. Don't worry; I'll take care of you."

Troy watched her babble on, still amazed at his luck. She had been beautiful and dangerous in one setting. But he figured to survive as long as she did she had to be. As he left the room with her to find a way to contact his wife, he finally remembered the mini biography from his grade school book.

_Caroline Mikaelson, alpha female of the Mikaelson family, reigning queen from the twenty-eight century until the thirty-ninth century when Silas returned and buried Asia; Current whereabouts unknown, presumed dead. Responsible for saving the earth single handedly twice, she once killed two thousand of Silas' undead in one hour. Known for her kindness and strength, not a vampire to cross; mate to the original hybrid Niklaus Mikaelson._

The most feared vampires in all history had just welcomed him into his new life, and proceeded to threaten him with that new life. Troy shook his head, wondering how his wife was going to take all of this. It truly was a brave new world.


	43. Confess

**So this ended up being a one-shot more than a drabble. It also was one of the awkward requests, that isn't so awkward after all...idk how that happened. Anyway...**

**Caroline, Klaus, and Tyler are thrown together, trapped until they confess their secrets.**

Springtime was in the night air and Caroline bounced happily along the road, high on the excitement of the approaching prom. She was in a nothing-could-bring-her-down mindset, the prom committee had approved the last of her details for the dance and she just scored huge on a deal for decorations that were going to make everyone happy and help them stay within their budget. Never call Caroline good for nothing, she managed to single handedly plan prom, cure Klaus from the mighty Silas, and not manage to flip her humanity switch.

It was a blessed relief to be doing something again that was purely a human convention, it made the guilt disappear from the past couple weeks for a little bit. Lost in her thoughts Caroline failed to notice the sound of growling and snarling until her nose picked up two no, five familiar scents. Whipping her head around Caroline saw Elijah, Rebekah, and Bonnie trailing after a rolling ball of arms and legs snapping at each other.

It was dark outside, night fast approaching, and they were rushing away from town into the trees but Caroline identified the smells already-Klaus and Tyler. Rushing over to Bonnie she surveyed the other two originals watching the fight with calm indifference.

"What the hell is going on?" she turned to Bonnie.

Bonnie turned towards Caroline with a grim face and Caroline was worried for a second that Silas had possessed her friend again. Turning to the fight brewing in front of her she raced at them calling their names. "Tyler! Klaus!"

Elijah held her back, when a hand came dangerously close to slicing her throat. Caroline could smell the blood sweetening the air and her heartbeat pounded erratically at the sight. She could not tell who was winning and was worried that neither seemed to noticed that she was calling to them.

Bonnie placed a firm hand on Caroline's shoulder, "We need to do this."

Caroline glared at her best friend, "Do what?"

Caroline was trying to grasp the situation. Tyler was back in Mystic Falls and Klaus said that he was going to kill him and it looked very much like that was going to happen if she didn't step in soon. Now Bonnie was saying this need to happen?

"Are you crazy, he is going to kill him!" Caroline screeched.

She conveniently left out which "he" was whom. Elijah's lips quirked at Caroline's choice of words and finally let her go. Caroline jerked out of his arms, straightening her jacket before jabbing her nose in the air. She ignored the small huff from Rebekah.

Elijah calmly turned to Caroline, his emotionless face unnerving her. She would take Klaus' mask any day; she could read him better than herself. Elijah frowned before speaking, "Tyler has been gifted the cure by Katarina in a double cross of all us. If Tyler gives the cure to Klaus then everything is lost and Silas will rain down on everyone."

Caroline felt the ground drop out from beneath her, struggling to keep her balance. Tyler had the cure? Was he insane? There was no implication what would happen to the blood line if Klaus took the cure. Plus she had to make sure Silas took the cure, it would be the only way to unburden herself about the deaths she caused. She wouldn't let Silas roam free.

Another panic ticked at the back of her head, the memory of Klaus and the events of last week. The emotions that had been thrown around in that room as he lay crouched over in pain from a bit of the white oak stake in his back. Caroline pushed the flutter of emotion aside, focusing solely what was in front of her.

She turned between Bonnie and Elijah, "Let me talk to them! I can get them to calm down. Maybe we'll end this without anyone getting their heart ripped out."

Rebekah snorted, "Do that and the only heart getting ripped out will be yours. One of them will kill you before you even get close enough."

"No, I have better idea." Bonnie firmly stated, glaring at Rebekah.

Rebekah flipped her hair and returned to watching the fight. Caroline watched as Bonnie began chanting in her secretive ancient tone, her voice reverberating off the trees around them, the wind picking it up and wrapping them in the powerful words.

Caroline watched as a barrier of magical energy began to erect itself around the two fighting hybrids. Then with no other thought that someone else needed to be in there with them, she blurred to their sides, jumping in as the last spot of air was trapped in the bubble.

"Caroline, what have you done?" Rebekah yelled at her, her fangs out and eyes blood red.

The two men immediately stopped fighting, blood and torn flesh falling from both of them, Tyler significantly roughed up more than Klaus. Rebekah's ferocious call had snapped them both out of it, trying to find the source of distress.

It was then that Klaus turned around and caught sight of Caroline. They locked eyes, his softening just the slightest at sight of her but then hardening into black coal as he saw the ebbing and flowing of magic around them. Klaus growled under his breath and turned to face his siblings and Bonnie.

"What did you do?" he raged at them.

His anger was palpable and Caroline wanted to shrink away from the confrontation. She had seen him this livid before but that resulted in her getting stabbed in the stomach and the other time was just last week in trying to remove the stake and that resulted in a much different response. She wanted to smack herself for her impulsiveness to jump into the fray when she had no idea what exactly Bonnie had done.

Tyler was just as upset, "Let me out Bonnie! You've locked us in here with this bastard."

The immediate snarl from Klaus was only stopped when she gently touched the back of his hand. Tyler couldn't see the action but Klaus felt it. Snarling once more he dropped his other hand which had come dangerously close to Tyler's chest. Caroline let a sigh of relief and a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

Bonnie and Elijah just stared at Tyler unimpressed. Rebekah however was drinking up the situation, glinting at Tyler reveling in his discomfort.

Elijah turned to Klaus, "I'm sorry Niklaus but we need the location of the cure and this is the fastest way to do so. There is no telling how fast Silas will be in reconstructing those who have died."

The air around them tensed immediately. All of them knew the unspoken severity of Elijah's words. Caroline shuffled her feet, immediately feeling her stomach drop into sickening twists and turns in remembrance of her part in this Silas disaster. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck as the air felt thick and tight.

Bonnie saved everyone.

"It's a confession spell. No one can leave until the darkest secrets of their heart have been brought to light."

The silence returned but this time instead of pure horror paralyzing her, Caroline felt the red hot blush of embarrassment flash out over her cheeks before the color dropped from her face altogether. Confession? Like what Catholics did in all the TV shows and movies she watched?

She didn't want anyone to know the secrets of her heart, the ones she kept hidden behind an infinite number of doors with no doorknobs. There was a reason she hid them so well, everything would change if they got out.

Klaus was seething his whole body starting to shake in fury, Tyler not far behind. All at once the both of men burst into speech each yelling at Bonnie for pulling something so stupid.

"I will not listen to you witch. Rebekah, sweetheart, get a witch to remove this barrier."

Rebekah just laughed which furthered the lines of fury on her elder brother's face. "I quite enjoy this situation Nik. I'd rather like to watch how this plays out."

She settled against a nearby tree, crossing her arms and ankles with a smirk so wide Caroline knew exactly which brother she learned it from. Klaus turned to Elijah but his oldest brother stood there just as poised as ever in cold silence. Caroline could tell Klaus was itching to tear something apart, knowing he was trapped like a caged animal. She was starting to feel that way herself. The air in the bubble began to become stale and unusable.

Tyler pushed himself right up to the barrier in front of Elijah, his body snapping back as the cackle of magic burned his touch. "I don't plan on giving up the cure's location so just as well might get comfortable, because we aren't going anywhere." he sneered at Elijah.

"Tyler!" Caroline called out.

She really wasn't in the mood for a pissing match. He needed to realize what was at stake here. She understood that he wanted to kill Klaus but he needed to understand that Silas was worse, much worse. She shuddered at the memories.

Klaus beat her to the punch though, turning to Tyler getting right in his face.

"You had better give that cure's location or I will tear the heart from your chest," he hissed.

The flash of Tyler's hand towards Klaus' chest was all Caroline saw before the both of them were snarling at each other again, rolling on the earth, clawing and tearing at each other. The sickening pop of human bone alerted her that at least one of them was beginning to transform. Blurring over to the two, she grabbed whatever spot of material she could from each of other and flung them apart as hard as she could. They both flew through air, bouncing into opposite sides of the enclosed space. The contact with magic crackled across the air as they flew to the ground giving off the strange scent that was unique to magic.

"That is enough!" she yelled, hands out to her sides, her own fangs popping out and eyes reddening over. "Tyler, unless you want everyone to die give him the damn location. I know what Silas can do and trust me you want him to put in the ground more than killing Klaus."

She was doing her best to not sound like a whiny little girl. Tyler and Klaus were staring down the other, both approaching her Klaus only stopping when his chest bumped into Caroline's outstretched arm and hand. She felt a tremor of relief flood through her veins at once again feeling Klaus' chest beneath her fingers.

She almost started to subconsciously rub her thumb back and forth but Tyler bumped into her other hand. His feel was familiar but not the excitement she was used to. Caroline gulped at the realization, keeping her eyes glued to her feet. She was afraid if she looked up to either of their faces, her darkest secret would be revealed.

Tyler's voice broke the awkward tense silence. "It's with my pack in Kentucky, just outside of Louisville."

Rebekah was gone before anyone could say another word. Caroline dropped her hands and let her shoulders slouch forward with relief. Klaus stepped closer both to her and Tyler, enough that Caroline could feel the raw energy rolling of him. It messed with her mind.

Klaus tilted his hand, face schooled back into arrogance with his hands clasped behind his back, "See that wasn't so hard now was it, little Lockwood?"

Caroline wanted to smack herself in the forehand, it was moments like these she wanted to smack both of them and swear off men all together. But the Klaus' proximity and Tyler's made her stomach jumble in knots. So instead she stepped away from both of them, determined to not let them sway her.

She approached the barrier and looked at Bonnie, whose image was slightly distorted from the magic.

"Stop, Bonnie can you take the spell down now. Tyler gave the location."

Bonnie just shrugged her shoulders and then gave a small grimace. "I can't the barrier will come down once there is nothing left from the people inside to confess. "

Caroline's mouth dropped open in shock and she fought the childish urge to stick out her tongue. Elijah turned to Bonnie as well, it seemed even he wasn't expecting that answer. Caroline closed her eyes, willing herself to stay strong and turned back to Klaus and Tyler.

Klaus caught her eye and she felt him pour all the heat from their previous exchange into it. They both knew he didn't need to confess a word, he already had. Her fingers started to shake, to which Klaus noticed. She was so absorbed in their wordless conversation she didn't have the slightest idea what Tyler was thinking or if he saw.

With that thought, guilt consumed her and she hastily broke eye contact with Klaus and focused on Tyler. Tyler scrunched his eyebrows at her, opening his mouth to speak but Klaus cut him off.

"I must confess this for once is not for me. " Tyler looked at him in confusion. Caroline said nothing. Klaus continued, "I have nothing left to say."

Caroline bit her lip. The unspoken line being he already told her.

Klaus raised a brow. "Now Tyler, could you have lied to us?"

The lofty lilt of his voice made Caroline snort in frustration. She would never understand his need to parade his power around, especially over Tyler.

"I told you the truth," Tyler grit out between clenched teeth, his fists just as tight.

Klaus just pressed further, "Another plot to kill me perhaps? Is that what is stirring in that juvenile brain of yours?"

This time Caroline really did roll her eyes. "Klaus stop it."

Klaus spun round to her at the sound of her voice, approaching her with a hunter's gait. She hadn't expected that.

"Or is it our former Miss Mystic Falls? Does she have something swimming around there that needs to be out in the open?" he lightly teased.

Caroline fought the blush on her face, keeping eye contact with Klaus to force him to go away. They both knew the truth of his words but she could play with the best of them. But her body betrayed her. Caroline could feel wet heat building between her legs as Klaus stared at her. She just prayed Tyler couldn't smell it.

Thankfully she was saved by Bonnie. "Klaus I am this close to giving you aneurism," her friend snipped out.

Klaus broke contact with Caroline and she suddenly realized how close he had approached her as their eyes locked in combat of who was the strongest. This time she could not fight the blush but managed a scoff for good measure. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Tyler increasingly tense up, tight as a coil.

Klaus sneered at Bonnie, "To what point and purpose witch, you yourself cannot fix this, clearly it belongs to these two."

"Yeah well, how we do know you aren't telling the whole truth. Who knows what goes on in that black heart of yours?" Caroline bit back, desperately trying to use harsh words to misdirect the attention from her.

Klaus turned back to her, with a snarl on his face and a frown in his eyes. Caroline felt a sting in her heart from the hurt eyes but pushed it away. She needed the attention elsewhere; some things should never be brought to light.

He strode right up to her, his whole presence filling everything around her, blocking Tyler from her view. She kept a defiant stare on her face, determined to wear a mask as excellent as did. Tilting his head towards her, she felt his breath brush across her face. Caroline closed her eyes briefly at the sensation, memories pushed to the forefront of her mind and her body superheating.

"You know very well, love." He whispered low enough for her ears only.

She did know. Guilt crept back at her and she suddenly wished that she never stopped walking home from the prom committee meeting. This was too much and he was getting too close to the truth.

"You stay away from her." Tyler roughly called out, pushing himself in front of Caroline.

Klaus chuckled at Tyler's actions. "You'll find much has changed since you left."

Tyler turned back to Caroline, "Care?"

Caroline wanted to stake herself, Tyler sounded like a lost puppy. Yep, she should have definitely just continued walking home. Shuffling her feet, and crossing her arms, she jutted her chin out in the air. She could do this.

"It's nothing."

Klaus glared at her.

Tyler caught the exchange. "What the hell is going on? What did you do to her?"

"Me? I did nothing that a gentleman wouldn't do." Klaus held his hand over his chest, the venom of his words reflecting the callousness of Caroline's.

"Gentleman my ass." Tyler spit out.

Caroline closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers against her forehead. This was going downhill fast. If she didn't do something soon, Klaus was going to tear out Tyler's heart- one more death to add on to her growing rap sheet.

Tyler grabbed her shoulders, cradling her in his arms. Caroline wanted lean into him because of the safety he had once provided but she found the feel of the arms weren't the right fight anymore. The thought scared her and her whole body stiffened up. Tyler tried to catch her eye, "Care, just tell me what this creep did. It can't be that bad. I'll just get Silas to kill him later."

A gust of air passing her was the only indication that Tyler had been swept aside, turning to see Klaus heaving with a maddening glint in his eye. Tyler was once again flung against the wall of the barrier.

"Stop it! This is stupid! He didn't do anything wrong. It was me. I kissed him, okay!"

Caroline clamped her hands over her mouth the minute the words escaped her traitorous tongue.

Almost in unison Tyler and Bonnie screamed out, "You did what?"

Caroline flicked her head to the outside, quite forgetting the presence of Bonnie and Elijah. Tyler was seething and Klaus was grinning with his classic smugness.

She cleared her throat, she just wanted to go home and bury herself in her pillows. Her face was so flushed now, she could feel the heat radiating off her skin.

"I-I kissed him. There happy now?"

The silence amongst the group grew thick and Caroline could feel all eyes on her. The only sounds were of the night life and the furious panting of Bonnie. It was like being under a microscope, or worse being the awful dream of being in class naked and told to present. It was unbearable.

It was a sharp barking laugh of Tyler that broke the silence. "I should have known this was going to happen. I leave and you suddenly jump in bed with the first set of eyes that flashes in your direction. How could you do this?"

This time Klaus really did reach Tyler, his hand digging into his chest to rip his heart out before the older hybrid was pulling his hand out, clutching his head pain. Tyler grinned wickedly at his maker's suffering, stepping back from the situation.

"Niklaus don't kill the pup. Bonnie, please stop hurting my brother or I will be forced to act." It was Elijah, it was the first time he had spoken since Caroline had foolishly stepped into the barrier.

Bonnie looked up to see the brutality in Elijah's eyes and knowing her friends were inside the barrier where they could not help, she immediately let go. Klaus grunted in pain, standing back up with great difficulty but managed all the same.

While Klaus may have listened to his older brother, Tyler was just getting started. He face was livid, "What did you sleep with him too?"

Caroline shook her head with an incredulous expression, "What no! Did you think it might not be me but you? Do you have anything to confess?"

She was misdirecting again. The question shut Tyler up instantly, his mouth snapping shut with a faint popping sound. Caroline saw a faint emotion flit past his eyes and gasped.

"Are you kidding me? All railing on me and you do have something!"

She knew the guilty look on his face anywhere.

Klaus was already in his face, eyes gleaming gold and fangs protruded. He was no longer in the mood for games. "The lady asked you a question, mate. I suggest you answer her."

Tyler shot a disgusted look between the two of them. "I'm not staying in Mystic Falls anymore because I don't want not because Klaus is chasing me."

There was a lot left unspoken but it didn't matter. The top of the barrier crumbled a little but Caroline paid no heed, pain breaking her heart. Yet she found that it wasn't as hurtful as she expected it to be.

It was then she noticed the fractured barrier but it still stood.

"Seriously, what else is there?" she was so over this. She had been embarrassed one too many times in the span of an hour and she added one more spell of ones she never wanted to be around when Bonnie performed them.

Tyler sneered at her before turning to Klaus, "Well since you two seem so cozy shouldn't you be professing your undying love to Caroline? Or promise never to hurt her again?"

Tyler was met with silence.

He scoffed, "That's what I thought. Give me a break, you aren't capable of love."

Klaus advanced but stopped after a warning from Elijah. Caroline was doing her best to look only at the ground. It really was too much now, every moment of the day curing Klaus of Silas replaying in perfect clarity.

Tyler caught Caroline's face noticed the pink and reds coloring her skin and let out a low whistle.

"Wow- you know what? I don't care anymore. It's not like you were going to stay with me anyway. It works out just fine; means I can go find a wolf and start a pack."

The barrier crumbled further. Before Caroline could call out at Tyler to come back, Tyler jumped out of the top where a small hole appeared and disappeared into the night.

Klaus eyed Caroline, his face just as hurt. She had said harsh words to him. It was like the night of the witches all over again. Without another word, he leaped out the hole as well. Instead of disappearing into the night he stood patiently on the other side of the barrier.

Caroline turned to jump out as well but the barrier sealed itself back up before she could get out. Her heart sank; of course it was her that stilled needed to spill her secrets. The one secret she had left, the one hidden behind so many doors, Caroline didn't know if it could be unburied.

Klaus cleared his throat calling her back out her thoughts. "How long are you going to place this game, Caroline? How long do you think you can stay in there?"

"I have nothing to confess." she defiantly snipped.

It was the worst lie of her life and they both knew it.

"So this is what you truly think. Do you really think I am that repulsive? The other day after you pulled that stake out of my back you didn't think so. Or was that just a game to ensure your survival?" he bit the caustic words.

Caroline groaned. She knew he was never going to let her live that down. It had been marvelous, for once letting herself slip out of reality and deluding herself into thinking that everything was perfect when she brushed her lips against his. The raw power of him overpowered her senses and it wasn't until she was pushed against the wall and her shirt shredded on the ground, her hands in his curls as he lavished her chest that she realized what she was doing.

No, he wasn't repulsive at all and that was the problem. She wanted him badly, more than she had wanted another person in her life and that scared her.

"No." she faintly breathed.

"I won't wait forever."

It was bitter and hurtful, but those were two emotions she could handle with ease.

She sniffed, defenses back up and a plan in mind. "Well you might as well, because I'm not saying it."

"You'll die from your stubbornness," he vehemently shot out.

A dazzling smile flashed across her face, "No I won't."

Caroline had come up with a plan. All she had to do was wait until everyone left, then she could speak the words and no one would hear. Bonnie and Elijah had already slipped away at some point during her conversation with Klaus.

Klaus was just as stubborn as she, "I'll wait here until you do."

The smug bastard had seen right through her. She shouldn't have smiled.

God, she was tired.

"I need you."

It came out so swift and sudden she wondered if she just imagined herself saying the words but the sudden disappearance of the barrier told her otherwise.

Klaus was grinning like a chesire cat. "That wasn't so hard now was it?"

Caroline rolled her eyes, relieved and horrified in the same moment. Those had been the same words Klaus had spoken to her when he lied diseased and broken at her feet. The more she tried to forget them, the stronger the words grew in her.

Until it was the only thought that consumed her, hence the need to resort to prom committee, the distraction helped her for hours. Now the words were out on the air never to be taken back again and Klaus knew it.

She moved to walk past him but he didn't let, grabbing her wrists, her brought them to his chest and captured her lips in one fluid motion. Caroline immediately held onto him- hand gripping his necklaces and the gripping the cotton of his shit. Her lips molded against his, shut her eyes and letting their bodies do the talking. As he cupped a hand to her cheek to bring her closer the other hand slid down her back coming to top of her behind, fingers splayed across the top smashing her into him.

When his tongue flicked at her mouth, Caroline gave him access matching his power with hers. Last time she wasn't prepared for his raw strength but now she was and she could match him as his lips made her whole body quiver in delight. This time as the heat gathered back in her she didn't blush but let it grow until the need for more of him was almost overpowering.

But Klaus broke from her lips at that point, running the back of his hand across her cheek. His labored breath mixed with her pants, her hands trembling from the sheer emotion of it all. Klaus smirked brightly, "See, that wasn't so hard; much better than dying from stubbornness."

Caroline frowned, pulling him back in for another kiss. Perhaps she would go back to being in denial tomorrow but she doubted now that Klaus would let her. They needed each other too much.


	44. Interrupted

**Here is one of the awkward Klaroline requests. I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. I've moved into my new house and I just got my office unpacked the other day. **

**Warning: THIS IS MORE ON THE MATURE SIDE **

**Request: Sexy times keep getting interrupted.**

She was upset or embarrassed, or both.

_Oh, it was both. _

First it was time it happened was not even within ten minutes of her finally slamming her lips onto Klaus'. Caroline had finally made up her mind to let loose all the sexual frustration she had been feeling recently and she knew exactly who she had in mind to help her with the her problem. Klaus didn't even know what hit him, the minute he opened the door in baggy sweat pants and a thin sleep shirt at three in the morning. His eyes were a cross between hot fury with sleep still in the corner of his eyes.

When he saw her standing there, he didn't know what to say just simply ushered her inside.

"Something the matter, Caroline?" Klaus groggily mumbled, trying to wake up.

She didn't give him another chance, blurring at him her lips colliding at his in smash of teeth and lips. Klaus attempted to push her away at first but when he realized she was not attempting to take his life, Caroline found herself being pulled up, her legs wrapping around in his middle in response.

The poor entry table never had a chance. Caroline was thrust on it roughly, giggling as Klaus began placing hot kisses along her collarbone, fully awake now. She arched her back to him as he trailed down the white column of her neck, letting herself be more exposed to the ministrations of his mouth and tongue.

She gripped the edge of table, pushing her pelvis against his, eliciting an animalistic growl from Klaus. She giggled even more when Klaus pushed back the collar of her coat and let out a low stream of words in a language she did not know. Caroline wasn't capable of trying to discern the language, the hot tickle of his breath on the bare skin below the coat spinning pools of heat deep in her core. She had conveniently left her clothes back at her dorm room in Baton Rouge, instead opting for a black lace number that barely covered her.

She had been so tired of her roommate, Lynn, go on and on about all the guys that she kept hooking up with that Caroline had run all the way from Baton Rouge to New Orleans in the span of thirty minutes. Oh, she was going to wipe the smug grin off Lynn's face-

It was at that moment that Klaus swept aside the swatch of lace, his finger hooking deep into her. Caroline felt like she was going melt right there, burying her head against his shoulder, nipping at the tender skin of his neck as her body respond to every stroke of his finger.

"Do ya think y'll could carry that on upstairs?" a slurred voice drawled.

Both of them froze instantly. Caroline squeaked and scrambled to cover herself up, while Klaus did his best to cover her, the lust ridden eyes shifting to cold fury.

Caroline turned to the left to see Marcel lying on the couch, hardly able to pick to up his head. The bottle of bourbon was still clenched in his hand.

The second time it happened was the next morning. Marcel had completely broken the mood and they ended up falling asleep to sounds of the Louisiana bayou lulling them to sleep. She knew both of them had gone to sleep unsatisfied.

This time it wasn't Marcel who was the culprit but Rebekah. No, this time they had made it into the shower thoroughly enjoying taking their time in rubbing each other more than actually washing. Caroline was having fun teasing Klaus by touching him everywhere but where he wanted her too. He was deliciously hard, even more so because of being interrupted last night.

He was growling lowly, the sound rumbling across her whole body sending shivers down her spine that had nothing to do with her body currently being pulled out of the steamy water. Giving him a coy smile, Caroline ran her index finger lazily down his chest, until her finger strayed across his length. Grasping him with her whole hand, Klaus hissed and bucked his hips against her pushing for the much desired friction.

"Klaus, why on earth is it taking-BLOODY HELL! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?" Rebekah yelled.

There was a loud crash and scream from Caroline. Caroline zoomed backwards, forgetting she was in the shower, straight into the wall. Her head collided with the shower head and she yelped in pain, trying to once again cover herself in the fog of the steam swirling about Klaus and her.

Klaus wasn't much better but not bothering to cover himself up, "Get out Bekah!" he roared.

Rebekah was covering her eyes, shooting them both nasty looks but blurred from the room. Klaus and she exchanged looks of total exasperation.

Which led Caroline to her current predicament- Klaus and Hayley were off doing some wolf business and she was once again stuck in her biology lecture, watching the clock tick by. Not that it mattered, she wasn't paying attention. Caroline bit her lip and closed hers, willing the clock to magically go faster. Where was Bonnie when she needed her? Maybe she knew some spell that could jump time just a little faster.

Caroline picked her paper made fan from yesterday's homework, and tried to wave a breeze of cool air her way. The stupid A/C was broken and the class was relying on a small swap cooler that had to be at last twenty years old to pump cool air into the lecture hall of one hundred and twenty hot sticky bodies. The flimsy paper fan wasn't helping.

The air was stale and full of sweat, a bead rolling down her neck and hitting the rim of her collar on the back of her shirt no doubt drenched now. Caroline huffed, the images of Klaus from the shower that morning and the feeling of his finger stroking her insides madly pushing out every other thought, especially any related to the lecture. The temperature of her skin sky-rocketed, red heat spread across her body, her core pulsing out waves of untamable need.

Caroline couldn't take it between the smell of slick bodies, the stuffy heat of the room, and the memory of Klaus touching her it was too much. She wiggled her body just little, her hips thrusting slightly, anything to relieve the throbbing between her legs all the while trying to be subtle for no one to notice. Biting down on her lip, the euphoric smell of blood hit the air after a quick prick of her fangs.

"Caroline?"

Caroline snapped her eyes open, furiously trying to sit up straight and look interested in the lecture. It was Lynn, whispering in her ear.

"Mmh?" Caroline murmured, sure if she opened her mouth an embarrassing would spill out.

"The bell rang, we can go now."

Caroline was out the door before Lynn said another word. She practically ran to refuge of the swap before she took off at full speed not stopping until she reached Klaus' home in Jackson Square. Banging open the door, Caroline winced slightly at hearing one of the hinges snap under the pressure.

Elijah peered round the corner of the hall from the study. "Caroline, whatever is the matter? Did something happen at school?"

Caroline smiled and shook her head sending her now limp curls all over the place. Klaus appeared from behind Elijah, the heat in her core once again spiking at the sight of him. Klaus arched a brow, Caroline not even feeling awkward that he could smell the heat of her arousal. Her body was wound too tightly at this point.

She wasn't even sure who started stalking towards whom but the next thing she knew, she was unceremoniously dumped on Klaus' bed upstairs, his hand kneading her flesh and lips molded against hers. Caroline returned the kiss with a frantic fervor trying to desperately convey the need that was driving her mad. Letting their tongues explore the inside of each other's mouths, Caroline remembered everything that happened in the past twenty-four hours.

Caroline abruptly pushed Klaus away. Upset at her denying him, he zoomed back over, ripping her shirt off in the process.

"No! Lock the damn door. I swear if one more person screws this up I will rip their hearts out," Caroline spit out in a frantic breath.

Klaus dropped the snarl and zooming to the door without another word. Though he didn't say it, he was thinking the same thing.

There were going to be no interruptions this time.


	45. An Unexpected Birthday Surprise

**Caroline receives a big gift for her 100th birthday.**

"Come Care, keep up!" Rebekah called out, leading way down the winding alleyways of Mykonos.

Caroline struggled to keep up, the locals bustling about with their wares trying to sell to tourists that were slowly beginning to pile into the morning streets. Caroline held down her floppy sun hat and zoomed by an old man and his donkey with a little inhuman speed.

"I saw that!" Rebekah shouted over her shoulder, the older blonde jumping out the way to avoid a collision with someone.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Caroline laughed back.

The two of them ran through the crowded streets like the teenagers they eternally were, throwing caution to the wind and acting like they didn't have a care in the world. It had been so long since Caroline had done that and now it was all she wanted to do.

She chased after Rebekah, who kept turning the corners faster than she could keep up human speed or not. The twisting cobblestone roads of Mykonos were misleading. Anywhere else on Greece and one could just go downhill and eventually escape the white washed walls of the cities but here on Mykonos-it was better to never get lost.

Finally the smells of the sea connected with the sight of crashing blue waves. Caroline paused for a moment, overlooking the cliff edge. The whole expanse of the island was visible and if she squinted hard enough using her supernatural talents she could see the faint outline of mainland Greece on the blue horizon.

She breathed in deeply enjoying the tangy taste of salt. Looking below her she saw Rebekah already at the small boat on the private dock. Standing by her was a man whose back was to her. Caroline titled her head, groaning instantly recognizing that backside.

Caroline quickly turned her head making sure no know was about, then with a wild grin she backed up a few steps and then rushed the edge of the cliff, jumping over. She landed just behind Rebekah, startling her.

Rebekah whipped around, fangs out. She retracted them once she saw it was Caroline. "That's cheating!"

Caroline shrugged her shoulders, "My birthday, I can do whatever I want."

The words might have been directed at Rebekah but her eyes were fixed on the man behind her. Klaus stood there, with a wide grin at Caroline's entrance. Caroline felt her stomach twist at the sight of him. It had been two years since she saw him last. She walked out on him after a huge fight and he never came after her, so she didn't go back.

"I don't remember inviting you," she snipped, the carefree spirit dissipating with the breeze.

Rebekah put her arm out in front of them, "I did. Now stop frowning, I've planned everything out and I will not have your sour attitude ruining it all."

Caroline huffed and Klaus held his hands up in mock innocence. "Far be it from me to interfere with your plans, dear sister."

"Shut up." Rebekah and Caroline said at the same time.

Klaus' face soured instantly but then let it go after a minute. Sweeping an arm out to the boat he asked them to climb aboard. As Rebekah started the engine and took off into the blue, Caroline found herself instantly by Klaus' side.

"You never came after me." she stated, fumbling with a loose strand on her sundress.

Klaus gazed at her, "You never came back."

Caroline slammed her fist down on her the railing, trying to hold back her anger. "Why did you come back now?" she bit out through clenched teeth.

"It's your birthday," he said off handedly. Caroline turned from him, upset that was all he could up with.

She had thought that after all of this time, he could learn to apologize when it was his fault but maybe some things would never change. A warm hand grabbed her bare shoulder, his thumb starting to rub back and forth when she didn't turn back to him right away.

Reluctantly Caroline faced him again. The lines on his face were tired and stretched, his eternal beauty failing for moment as the illusion of his age broke for a microsecond.

"I'm sorry," he breathed out.

Caroline felt her eyebrows shoot into her hairline, trying to make sure she heard him correctly. Klaus drew her closer to him until Caroline was bumping against the hard lines of his chest. She breathed in his spicy scent realizing she had missed his smell more than she thought. Her arms wrapped around him.

"It took me awhile but I came to terms with what you were asking." he whispered into her ear.

A sigh of relief echoed from the driver's seat, Rebekah must have overheard the whole conversation. Caroline didn't know whether to slap her or hug her for setting her up. At the moment she didn't care.

Klaus suddenly broke apart from Caroline, turning her around. "Hurry, turn around sweetheart, we are coming up on it now."

Caroline scrunched her eyebrows, "Coming up on what?"

Rebekah at that moment turned the corner around of Mykonos and a small island was off in the distance came into view. Caroline turned back to Klaus whose eyes were dancing with mirth. She cocked a brow at him, expecting an answer.

A sly smile quirked the edge's of Klaus' mouth, "Your birthday present."

He pointed to the island. Caroline still didn't get what he was referring too. "It's on the island?"

Rebekah laughed, "Nope, my brother bought you the island."

Caroline felt her body stiffen tightly, eyes flitting between a snorting Rebekah and a smug Klaus. Klaus kissed the top of her head. "It's not every day one has their hundredth birthday."

Caroline couldn't respond, her mouth was still hanging open in shock.


	46. A Fate Worse Than Death

**Silas, upset that Klaus has still not brought him the cure, uses the full extent of his power on Caroline. **

"Being the creator of expression brings one certain perks," Silas stated lazily.

Caroline ignored him. She struggled not to breathe, telling her mind to stop its normal movement. Her chest burned with the action, the body protesting the will of the mind. Silas looked back at her, from his strewn out position in the chair Klaus normally occupied.

"I told you to keep breathing, breathe for me my darling child." he chided.

Tears welled in Caroline's eyes as she fought, trying to force her body to stop. She felt her fingers start to shake and then her arms, Silas watching her in fiendish delight.

"AHHHHH!" she screamed, the breath bursting from her body. The stake moved another millimeter slicing through another layer of her skin.

Caroline met Silas' eyes, the black spots empty with no soul. The man laughed, "Aren't you a peach?"

Bile formed in her mouth at the caustic laughter that broke from his cracked lips. She was frozen in place whether it was compulsion or expression like he talked about she didn't know. Standing in front of the Mikaelson's fire place, a razor sharp stake was slowly boring itself into her body with each breath she took. She could feel the stake on the inside of her splintering. The slivers created pushing and tearing through her weak flesh sending paralyzing pain to every nerve in her body.

She was drenched in her own blood, the occasional drips sliding down the hem of her shirt and falling onto a puddle on the floor. Caroline didn't know how long she had been there but it had to have close to a whole day at that point. It was early morning when she arrived at the Mikaelson manor to talk to Klaus and the sun had gone down some time ago.

If Klaus didn't come home soon she was going to die from blood loss or the stake would pierce her heart. Tears refused to fall; she was not going to show Silas how she was in pain. She was the queen of pain, she could handle this. Not really, all she wanted to do was break down and beg for mercy but her pride refused to.

Why had she even come here? Klaus had told her he was going to New Orleans, except she hadn't remembered that until she had already arrived and by then it was too late. Silas was already there.

All she wanted was to thank Klaus for letting Tyler come back for prom. Now she was dying, again.

Caroline breathed again, whimpering as the barbs tore further. Blood trickled out of her in a small stream, her white shirt long stained crimson. She dared a look down at herself; her skin was starting too ashen. A flood of relief swept through her the end was near; soon the constant agony would stop. It was all she could think of, stopping the pain.

"Oh, look the man of the hour finally appears," Silas brought Caroline back to reality.

Caroline snapped her head up just in time to hear the front door open and a sudden rush of air blurring of colors came into the room. There before her stood Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah. Rebekah's face paled instantly, her eyes softening at Caroline, her hand reaching up towards Caroline. Elijah roughly shoved Rebekah behind him, attempting to cover his little sister with his presence away from the animal Silas.

But Caroline's eyes were on Klaus. She had never seen him like this before the absolute still of his face terrified her. The promise of misery and death was written clearly across the clenched lines of his face. His eyes roamed her body, his mask not moving until his eyes locked with her dull and lifeless ones. When their eyes met a hot fire burned so brightly Caroline feared he'd burn her where she stood. It was total pain, a vein under his left eye madly twitching.

Caroline just wanted him to save her, to end the burning in her body. She was too weak to call out for him; all she could muster was a weak whimper. A tear finally escaped its prison in the process. It fell down her cheek and stained the perfect lines of her graying face.

Klaus broke in that second.

"Release her," he growled out instantly pulling Silas out of his chair and pinning him roughly against the wall.

Caroline screamed. The stake suddenly drove in further by itself. It stopped just above the muscle of her heart. Any movement and it would pop the thin membrane and end her. Klaus flew back from Silas, the room falling completely silent expect for the small whimpers from Caroline.

Silas pulled himself out the wall, dusting the rumble from his shirt and straightened his collar. Klaus was seething, his whole body shaking in rage. Silas smiled and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry I'm not going to kill her," he smiled brightly.

Lifting up his hand, he stretched out his fingers and the stake wrenched itself from Caroline's chest and flew into Silas' outstretched hand. Caroline flopped to the floor falling into the puddle of her own blood. Rebekah was already at her side; wrist sliced open holding it to Caroline's mouth.

Caroline could barely lift her head to accept the offering from the girl; she was too tired and too weak. Rebekah lifted Caroline up and cradled her head in her lap. They might have never been close but in that moment Caroline was grateful for Rebekah's kindness.

Klaus didn't dare look over at his sister and Caroline, his eyes were fixed on Silas. He didn't trust the witch at all.

Silas chuckled at Klaus holding the stake covered in Caroline's blood in front of him. Silas turned it over slowly, "Marvelous isn't it? The most fearsome beings in all eternity are easily taken down by a single weakness."

A dribble of blood rolled down the stake which Silas caught on his thumb and popped it into his mouth, sucking it off with an audible pop. Klaus and Elijah both inched closer to Silas.

"Rebekah, be a dear and get Caroline out of here." Klaus ordered in a dead tone.

Rebekah nodded and hastily helped Caroline stand to her feet, speeding to the door. As they stepped to the door Rebekah and Caroline bounced back, both landing in a heap on the ground-they could not get out. Klaus growled at Silas.

Silas just cocked a brow, "Where's my cure?"

Klaus felt the blood vessels behind his eye start to burst, finally glancing down towards Caroline her body still soaked in blood but the pallor of her face staring to color again. Klaus rolled his neck trying hard to stop the urge to rip the head clean from Silas' body. Elijah stopped him, a firm hand placed on Klaus' shoulder.

"It isn't here. It is with those that it belongs too."

Elijah's voice was just a toneless as Klaus' with icy rage filling his eyes. He stood to his full height, all his power and authority filling the room. Silas just frowned like a child denied candy and shrugged his shoulders.

"That's too bad really," Silas sighed, "I was going to let her go."

With a wave of his hand Elijah and Rebekah disappeared from the room. Silas then was at Caroline's side, his fist pulling her hair, forcing her to arch her neck back and her hands clawing at his grip leaving bloody trails on Silas hands. Klaus rushed towards them but was stopped by an invisible barrier.

"I will end you!" he screamed once he realized he could not move in any direction, "I will hunt you to the ends of time. You cannot defeat me."

Silas laughed, "Haven't you listened to a word I've said? I want to make your life miserable. Why would I kill you when I can inflict something much worse?"

Klaus felt himself falter for a second, Caroline snapping her head towards him, fear flashing across her face. The pit in his stomach tightened whatever was about to happen was going to haunt him for the rest of his long life. He banged harder on his enchanted prison.

Silas used his other hand to grab Caroline's chin, roughly turning her head towards him. Caroline started kicking wildly; she wasn't going to go without a fight. It was then that she saw it the pupils of Silas' eye contract, she kicked harder thrashing her body any way she could to stop whatever was about to happen. Silas just pulled on her hair making Caroline see stars, knowing her scalp was bleeding as gold strands were ripped from her head.

"Caroline, look at me." Silas ordered.

Her body obeyed. Caroline's mind fought it but it was too late. She had no control against compulsion like this. She didn't even know Silas had that power but then again no one knew how powerful he was.

"Good girl. Now listen to me. You are to be a ghost. You from here on out you are not allowed to touch anyone expect to feed. No one is to remember who you are; all traces of you are to be erased from everyone's lives."

Caroline widened her eyes, tears automatically welling up. This time she had no power to stop them. She didn't understand why Silas was doing this to her. The thought that no one was going to touch her every again scared her. She wished now that the stake had pierced her heart. Death seemed the better option when compared to this.

Silas smiled down at her, curling her hair around his hand tighter. Caroline growled at him, to hide the pain.

"There will be one silver lining," Silas nodded to Klaus, "He won't forget you. He will be the only person in all eternity who will remember who you are. Now you will follow him, ever where he goes. You will not kill yourself."

With that finality of that sentence Silas dropped Caroline from his grasp. She looked to Klaus who mask of death was back in face and focused solely on Silas. The witch tilted his head at Klaus and then with a wave of his hand, Klaus found himself frozen in place unable to move a muscle. He hated it; no one had done that before.

Klaus tried to will his body to move but found himself unable to do so. He couldn't even move his eyes to look at Caroline. He had never felt so powerless in his life and the bile that formed in his mouth that the thought consumed him. He was going to kill Silas if it was the last thing he did.

Silas smirked gleefully, rubbing his hands together. Klaus watched helplessly as Silas moved to stand in front of him and watched the witch's eyes dilate.

"You are going to share in this fate. You will never again see Caroline, even if she were to be standing inches from your face. You will be able to hear and feel her but the image of her will robbed from your mind for all eternity."

Silas contracted eyes and stepped back from Klaus. Klaus was instantly released from his frozen state but still confined within the walls of his invisible prison. Silas gave him one last wicked grin.

"I warned you that if you didn't bring me that cure I would make your life miserable. Don't make me ask you again."

With that Silas disappeared into thin air, the walls around Klaus going with him. Klaus collapsed to the ground consumed in agony. The reality of the situation thrust on him, completely rendered him void of emotion.

Wracking sobs filled the room, the feminine cries of Caroline shattering the remnants of his broken soul. Klaus looked up hoping against hope that he would see her face one more time.

He could see nothing.


	47. Her Mistake

**Alright is this a combination of two requests: Klaus forces Caroline to confront her feelings...with a Pride and Prejudice twist.**

The rain poured down in steady unrelenting sheets, graduation had been a total and complete disaster. Caroline was running as fast as she possibly could in broad daylight but it didn't matter. By the time she reached the front porch of her home she was complete soaked. She groaned as she took a minute to observe herself. Everything was clinging to her and sticky from the hot summer rain.

No one believed her that it was going to rain. She kept trying to tell the principal as they gathered outside on the football field that rain was coming. Caroline scoffed as she pulled the graduation gown off her dripping body sending rivulets of water everywhere-that's what happened when she had a superior sense of smell.

All the other supernaturals in the crowd were just as uneasy as she had been, Stefan and Elena both looking to the sky until the fat wet drops began falling on the unsuspecting crowd below. In the midst of the chaos of people began scrambling to find shelter as the Virginian skies opened upon them and that's when Caroline saw him.

Klaus was leaning casually on the trees in the distance. The blood in her body boiled instantly as a dizzying sensation spread across her entirely. The dizziness gave way to heat that left her hot to the touch against the falling water. She didn't know why but she couldn't decide if she was relieved or upset to see him. It was at that moment that some idiot ran into her as she stood gaping at the hybrid and she fell straight into a newly created mud puddle.

Her perfect gown was ruined; the mud splattered all over her front was the last straw. Caroline fled home not able to handle it all, her inner control freak part in overdrive because her world came crashing down.

Caroline was busy trying to flick spots of mud off the front of her dress, and then moved to wipe off the dirt from her face when a voice called her out of her furious scrubbing.

"Caroline."

She stiffened at the sound of the voice and turned to see Klaus standing not more than two feet away, equally drenched and covered in mud. Caroline eyed him once over trying to squash the already stifling heat of her body. The way his dark clothes clung to him outlined every perfection she knew he had. The memory of touching his skin as she pulled the imaginary stake from his back flashed in her mind. There was no denying Klaus was the most wonderful thing to look at, she wasn't stupid. She did feel stupid though for being able to control her body, a flush of pink spreading across her face. But she was spared from talking, Klaus launching into a rushed sentence.

"I've waited long enough and in fact I don't know why I've waited at all. These past months have been a torment. I came back for Rebekah's graduation for the single purpose of seeing you."

Caroline raised a brow at him, a nervous tangle of nerves mixing in her stomach. Of all the things he could say, that was the last thing she expected to hear out of his mouth. But Klaus wasn't finished, the mask of the hybrid melting away to the man underneath that she sometimes got a glimpse of. The flutter of nerves rose from her stomach to her chest. She hadn't seen the man behind the mask for awhile now-that couldn't be good. At the same time she couldn't deny that she missed that part of him.

Klaus kept going, "I've fought with myself for long enough, against everything I believe, put aside the issue of you assisting your friends in plots against me-

"What are you talking about?" Caroline was confused.

Klaus stared at her for a heartbeat. Before three words came tumbling out of his mouth that she didn't expect. "I love you-in best way I know love."

Both eyebrows shot into her hairline. She had known for awhile that Klaus held some emotion for her and she thought it was love, that's why she had told him back in January when she was suffering from the bite he gave her. But to actually hear him say it to her-it created a whole flurry of emotions and rocked her to the spot she stood in. A flurry of emotions she didn't know how to identify. Her eyes hazed over in shock and realized Klaus was speaking still.

"Come with me," he asked her. Caroline stared at him still a bit confused, "Come with me to New Orleans shake off this wretched excuse of a town."

It was as if a bucket of ice dropped on her already soaked shoulders, her mind instantly snapping out of its trance. Everything that Klaus had done flooded back to her in a single furious wave.

"Are you kidding me? Wow. Who do you think you are right now?" Caroline snidely snipped taking two steps back from him to breathe air that wasn't clouded with his scent.

Klaus didn't move from his spot, the softness of his face losing itself in the mask of anger he so often sought refuge behind. Caroline felt a twinge of guilt at the back of her mind but quickly focused on all the bad Klaus had done to stifle that emotion. She tensely watched Klaus lean towards the banister of the porch and punishingly grip the wood, the faint cracks of it splintering wood echoing over the rain. Caroline only felt the blood rushing in her veins, compelling her forward to hide the effect of his offer.

He growled lowly, "I'll take it as a no then."

Caroline just scoffed with raised eyebrows, no trusting her voice to speak the words for her. Klaus gazed out to the street, silence growing between them. Caroline wanted him to leave the tension building a steaming bubble around them. She couldn't just open the door to the house because knowing Klaus he would follow in if he wanted. But he wouldn't leave either and it was causing her body to build boil, he just wouldn't leave her alone.

Klaus spun around suddenly in her face, his eyes blazing. "Then explain to me then why continually flirt and come to me?"

Caroline fisted her hands to her side, this was not going the way she wanted it too. She did not want them to dive deeper into her. She pulled instantly at Tyler's name, using him as a shield. She still had not forgiven Klaus for his treatment of Tyler.

"Someone had to be bait," she spat out.

The rage on Klaus' face fueled her, seeing him put in his place gave her a power rush. But Klaus' fury was equally fuelled; he stepped closer to her. He could count the faint freckles on Caroline's face if he wanted, their eyes attempting to melt the other by will alone.

Klaus' exhaled, his breath warming the wet skin of Caroline's face. She felt her hands twitch at the warmth, almost letting herself lean in. Klaus glowered at her, "You weren't always bait, love. We both know in those moments when no one else was looking, when no one was there to chaperone you it was real."

Caroline refused to react to his words. The only indication of her knowing the truth was the faint blush creeping across her cheeks, the heat of the blood racing to the skin caught by Klaus. A soft snort escaped his lips, compelling Caroline to fight back.

"Yeah well, I should ask why you even bother with me when you said yourself, I've tried to kill you! Oh and not to mention liking me goes against everything you believe." she snarked back pulling at the words he first said to her.

"Caroline," he growled in warning.

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Klaus."

He did not appreciate her mimicking him, accent and all. Caroline scoffed, "Seriously, you know why I won't come with you."

Klaus raised an expectant brow, his hands clasped behind his back waiting for her to elaborate. Caroline didn't keep him waiting.

"Do you think that anything you say might tempt me to accept your offer from the very man who drove out the boy I love? That by doing so you've ruined every chance I have at being happy?"

The switch in his eyes was instantaneous, the mark of cold hatred. "I didn't come here to talk about Tyler. We've already been over this."

Now Caroline was genuinely angry. Earlier is had just been to deflect but now she was out for blood. All of her emotions had been stewing since they lasted yelled at each other, Tyler had left her after prom without so much as reason why and she knew it was to do with Klaus. She just knew it and she was going to call him out on it. It didn't matter that when Tyler left she felt relieved, it didn't matter that she felt like a chapter closed and it was time to move on. She wanted to yell at someone about it and it was going to be Klaus.

She crossed her arms across her chest. "Too bad because apparently you haven't gotten it through your thick head. Sure you let him live and he came back from prom but he isn't ever allowed to step foot in Mystic Falls again-he isn't allowed to be with me. Didn't you tell him that?"

Okay, so she was pulling at straws with that because Tyler hadn't said anything about it but she knew Klaus. Klaus shrugged, "Perhaps I did."

Caroline was fighting every instinct to slap him. She could not believe after everything, he could not get out of his way of thinking. A tiny voice popped in telling that wasn't entirely true; Klaus was making small adjustments just not on the level she wanted.

"Why?"

"Because he doesn't love you they you should be loved." Klaus said without missing a beat.

The plain honesty of his tone mixed with the utter shock of those words passing his lips, Caroline gaped for a second. She recovered before Klaus had a chance to say another word, "This coming from the man who hasn't fallen in love in over a thousand years? Not exactly the poster child for successful relationships."

The voice of in the back of her mind warned her she was pushing Klaus too far but she didn't care. She was determined to give him a piece of her mind. Klaus for his part was smashing the banister to sawdust instead of lashing out at Caroline.

"You haven't seen him when he isn't around you. Your attachment was greater than his." Klaus bitterly told her.

Caroline rolled her eyes, "That's because he's a teenage boy whose family is gone and all of his friends are dead. Partly thanks to you! Of course he has trouble expressing himself."

Klaus grit his teeth together as if he were recalling a most distasteful memory, "Yes and I presume him flirting with Hayley anytime you weren't around is a sign of deep attachment."

Caroline took a step back from him, suddenly realizing their proximity. She put her hands to her temples trying to calm herself. That had been months ago, but it didn't stop the sliver of fear that sliced at her carefully built defenses. Hayley was always going to be a sore subject for her.

"They were trying to fool you!" she cried in exasperation.

Klaus rolled his eyes, something Caroline rarely saw him do outside of taunting Elena. "They didn't know I was there. I was standing half a mile away."

The sliver of fear suddenly wrenched into a gaping hole in her iron wall. It was enough to for Caroline to stumble backwards straight into a growing puddle on the stoop where the water was collecting. She winched as the cold water splashed on the backside of her bare calves, the hem of her dress wet again. They glared at each other in silence, both panting from their efforts at yelling. Caroline was scrambling inside her mind to recover.

She blurted the first thing at came to mind. "We've all plotted against you. Like I said we already talked about this, weeks ago."

It was weak and she knew it. By the look on Klaus' face, he knew it as well. The anger dropped and melted into a sly grin. Caroline felt her stomach drop.

Klaus stepped towards her again and Caroline stepped back, bumping into the side of the house. She had nowhere else to run. Her heart sped up a beat, praying Klaus didn't hear it. He leaned towards her, all his infuriating ignorance and presence surrounding her. "Yes and you're the one who can't let it go despite the fact that you-"

"I what?" she cut him instantly.

A measure of pain passed cross his eyes before the mirth reappeared. Caroline gulped.

"You scorn and hold over nose up at me yet you have killed or had hand in killing more people than I ever have."

Caroline immediately scoffed, " Yeah right. What are you talking about?"

Klaus' eyes flared once more darkening. "By killing my family and everything I have done!"

Klaus slammed his fist into the wall beside her. "All my work has been for the protection of family. Yet you and your little band of friends have killed not one but two of my brothers. Did you even think to realize how many vampires died after Kol's death or how many Sage had turned over the years? Hundreds upon thousands of vampires died in two fell swoops yet you blindly defend your friends as if nothing is wrong! Not to mention you singled handedly made it possible for Silas to bring every dead supernatural creature back to the world of the living and you call me a terrible person!"

Caroline was seething. Klaus had managed to pull her biggest insecurity out and smash it back into her face. She clawed the wall she was backed against, doing the same thing he was-using the wall to anchor herself. The voice in the back of her mind kept screaming at her telling her how similar they really were but Caroline refused to listen. She wanted to be angry at him.

"And what about Elena?" she breathed out very carefully.

Klaus tilted his head in annoyance. His body leaned closer into hers, the other hand pressing into the wall on the other side of her head, effectively trapping Caroline.

"Ah yes, the precious doppelganger that everyone seems to go bend over backwards to protect-the very same one who almost killed you and almost ruined prom for you just because she could."

His face was completely void of expression, but she could feel the heat radiating off his body. He had to bring up prom; she knew she was going to regret having him help her. She wanted one more jab at him before her defenses failed. One more thing and everything that she ever wanted to yell at him for would be out in the open. Maybe then he would finally leave and she could think straight.

Caroline pushed herself off the wall, forcing herself to either collide with him or he would have to take a step back. Klaus refused to budge, only letting her stand up straight.

"How could you just come into town and want to take her out without any regard for her life. You killed her aunt and then continually went after her blood. Wasn't it enough that you broke your curse, why couldn't you just leave us alone after that?"

Klaus stared at her for a moment; Caroline could hear the crunch of the siding of the house crumble in his hands.

"So this is what you really think about me? Thank you for explaining it so fully. You are just as deceiving and conniving as the rest of them. Perhaps if you just for once got off your moral high horse and realized we are in fact the same; you'd stop blindly defending your friends and use that brain of yours that I know you have. "

It was as good as a slap in the face. Caroline finally snapped, all her controlled snippets of anger finally crashing at his words. She could take no more of his bitterly accurate words because she didn't want to face it. She wasn't blindly defending her friends. The voice in the back of her head told her otherwise.

Caroline shoved against his chest with everything she had, the shock of the action causing Klaus to step back more than the actual force of it. Caroline flung her hands out to her sides, defensive and rage rolling of her.

"And this is coming from the person who said he'd never hurt me again. Yet here you are flinging words about like a little two year old that didn't get his way."

Klaus snarled, stepping towards her again. Caroline ignored him, still on a rampage.

"From the moment I learned who you were and you tried have me killed without even knowing who I was I realized that I was always going to hate you. You are such a jerk! You act only thinking about yourself, you are still stuck in your own way and refuse to understand my feelings. How do you really think I would just pack my bags follow you to New Orleans? Okay maybe there were some real moments there when I really felt something about you but you drove out Tyler. You have messed so many things up!"

Caroline stopped everything finally out in the air. All at once she felt lighter than she had in ages, the tension coiled within her out and revealed. She locked eyes with Klaus, his face broken. Caroline felt a sharp pang in her heart that she wasn't expecting. Unconsciously she pushed forward, the nearness of him relieving the bite inside her. She watched Klaus flick his eyes to her lips and she made the mistake of glancing at his. The sudden urge to press up against him and taste him was the only thing she wanted to do now that she had unburdened herself.

It seemed Klaus had the same inclination, his body leaning towards hers as well, and his breath ghosting over her face sending a rush of anticipation across Caroline's skin. Just as she thought Klaus was about to kiss her he spoke.

"So be it, I won't ever ask you again. Just realize that your continual blind faith in your friends and Tyler will kill you. Don't say I didn't warn you."

With a sudden rush of air, Caroline snapped her head to the wet scene in front of her. Klaus had left. Gasping suddenly she stumbled back against the wall of her home, realizing that she had almost kissed him right after yelling at him and he at her. The point of his last words stung deeply and instead of feeling victorious that Klaus had finally taken the hint and got out her life her heart crumbled.

As her heart crumbled so did she. Caroline found she no longer had the strength to stand and slid down the wall. She fell straight into the puddle of muddy water further ruining her already stained dress. For once in her life her inner neurotic self didn't care. She was blinded by shock weighing the words that had been spoken to her. Caroline must of have been there hours, mulling over what happened because suddenly she looked up and it was dark-the rain long gone and Klaus once more before her.

Caroline didn't know what to say. Klaus wordlessly placed a letter on the window sill, glanced at her with a pained expression before his mask slipped back into the place. Before Caroline could call out his name in explanation he was gone again. She eyed the letter resting on the mantle of the window. She saw the neat scroll of her name printed across the envelope. Caroline scrambled up and grabbed the letter without a second thought.

Rushing inside, she flew to her bedroom and locked herself in. Taking a deep breath to qualm the trembling of her hands, Caroline began to read the words. Words that as she read broke the rest of walled emotions she had tried desperately to keep Klaus from.

Caroline rested the letter in her lap, unable to continue. The tiny voice popped back in her mind telling her that she had made a huge mistake in refusing Klaus.

She sighed heavily and picked the letter back up. Glancing over what she had read so far the trembling of her heart matched the voice in her head.

She had made a mistake-a huge one. One she didn't know if she could fix.

* * *

**So did you get the P&P flavor to it? I tried to morph P&P to Klaroline but it is much harder than it looks. Tell me what you think!**


	48. Fifty Bajilion

**Caroline regrets ever letting Klaus have her phone number. Missing scene 4x18**

"You going to get that?" someone asked.

"Excuse me?" Caroline snipped, the voice breaking her mid-sentence.

Caroline turned from her conversation with Morgan about the prom budget to Katie who was pointing at her back pocket. Caroline furrowed her brow when she felt the warm buzzing of her phone against the fabric of my back pocket.

She rolled her eyes, whipping the phone out with a nasty smile at Katie. She scanned at her phone, grinding her teeth at the notice.

Twenty new messages

Caroline tapped on the little image and the window popped open to reveal all of them from Klaus. She snapped it closed without reading a single one. _Why did she give him her number again?_

Oh, that's right. Stefan wanted her to have his number when they were looking for the witches, in case they got separated in the woods. Caroline had scoffed and protested about the whole situation because of the smirk on Klaus' face.

"Just let me type it in for you," he had said holding out his hand for her phone.

His eyes had locked with hers the way they had when they were talking about the map and the expression triangles. Caroline got so lost in the look it wasn't until she realized that her fingers were brushing his until she handed him the phone.

It snapped her out of the heated eye battle. She then looked away in angry embarrassment, swearing she heard him chuckled as his finger brushed over the screen.

Now she wished she had never let him have the damn phone.

The stupid thing kept going off and the others were starting to notice. Caroline just kept ignoring it, losing track of how many messages came in. Finally Katie slammed down the fabric swags that she was mending for the decorations, "Would you please answer you phone so the rest of us can work in peace!"

Caroline glowered at the other girl, wondering if she should just compel all of them to forget the sound because there was so much work to do. Growling in frustration, Caroline opened her phone and tapped on the newest message.

_I need you at the mansion now. _

Her heart did a strange flutter but Caroline instantly squashed down the feeling. Whatever the hell was going on, she was so over it. Standing up Caroline pointed a stern finger at Morgan.

"Finish balancing the budget. We need to find something we can cut. I have got to take care of something. Be finished with all our stuff by the time I get back."

Caroline stomped out the room, fuming over the interruption. She was going to give Klaus a mouthful for this.


	49. Home

**Today's is another super short one. Anon request: Klaus holds his child for the first time. **

How it happened no one ever did figure out. Yet Caroline was nine months pregnant and her water just broke. Klaus didn't even realize at first what happened, the squeak of surprise from Caroline as her gaze dropped to her leg to see fluid trickling down.

Once the smell of the amniotic fluid finally registered Klaus flew into action blurring Caroline to the bed upstairs before she could make an argument.

Thirteen hours later after the arrival of a witch, doctor, and Caroline's mother Klaus was stuck in the downstairs, pacing. Making his mind to go upstairs and figure some way to stop the whimpers trembling from Caroline a piercing wail rent the air.

Klaus froze mid-step. The newborn cries of a child, his child, echoed throughout the large house. The strongest urge to run clawed at him. Yet it was matched with an overwhelming desire to see his little miracle.

Before his mind could stop his feet, Klaus was already upstairs and pushing into the room where an exhausted but happy Caroline lay on the bed with a small wiggling bundle.

She smiled cautiously at him, her hair matted to her forehead and a thin layer of sweat covering her skin. Caroline held out her arms to Klaus offering him the little child. He tried to not let any emotion pass on his face but the afternoon light caught on a wisp of tarnished gold a top the baby's head-the same hue as his. It was the final indication that it was real and not some trick of fate.

"It's boy." Caroline whispered.

She deposited the baby into his arms not giving Klaus a chance to change his mind. The light weight of the child astonished Klaus, frozen at the sight of the pinkish face of his son.

In all his years being a father was never something he imagined or wanted to come to pass. Yet here he was, a child in his arms a gift from a very sadistic Mother Nature. He was the original hybrid, feared by the supernatural world reduced to a ball of unknown emotions by a child who didn't even know who he was.

Klaus wanted to hate the boy but he couldn't. A swell of warmth settled over him as he continued to study the little face. Drifting to Caroline her blue eyes matched his, hers brimming with brightness. Another wave of emotion washed over him and Klaus let a small genuine smile form.

It might be everything he never wanted but he could not deny that as his trembling hands held his son and his eyes locked onto the mother of his child a strange still settled over him. It was the quiet peace that he had searched for his entire existence.

It was the feeling of home.


	50. Waiting

**4x19 reaction drabble-Caroline overheard the last words Klaus spoke to Tyler and she doesn't know what to do.**

Caroline touched her lips trying to keep the memory of Tyler still there. The weight of her heart crushing down within her to place she didn't think she had a name for. Cold chills ran across the bareness of her skin knowing the perfect night had just come to a close.

Tears brimmed in her eyes, so worn that just she wanted to let loose every tear she could. But she didn't want to spoil the dress. She didn't care if it had come from Klaus; she felt every bit the princess she had asked him to let her be.

She sighed, no she cared it came from Klaus. She just didn't know why.

The rumble of a voice pricked her from her thought. It was Klaus' voice. Fear iced her heart instantly, wanting to dash out and spare Tyler from Klaus' wrath. She clenched her eyes shut and felt her nails dig into the palm of her hands with a punishing strength.

Focusing, she let her ears access their higher range, desperate yet nervous about what was happening outside on the porch.

Klaus was speaking; she realized that she must have caught the tail end of whatever he was saying to Tyler.

"In the shared interest of giving Caroline the night of her dreams, I'm going to allow you five seconds before I rip the heart out of your chest."

His voice was so deadly quiet, yet she could hear every note of pain and fury resonating in the air. Klaus started counting backwards from five and her heart leaped forward in her chest, scared stiff. The tall tale whoosh of the wind told her Tyler had disappeared once more.

Caroline didn't know what to think. Klaus had just let Tyler go, again. All his laughing and mocking her earlier about her rage over a dress and a night that wasn't important to him and he wanted her to happy. It didn't make sense.

Irritation and unexpected joy thudded wildly in her chest. She realized then that Klaus was still standing on the porch. The steady thump of his heart and the spicy scent of him both registered clearly even though a wall and a closed door separated them.

She waited not moving a muscle, uncertain as to what Klaus was going to do. There was an echo of steps and she heard him approach the door. Caroline could almost imagine him standing there no more than an inch away from the door.

They were both waiting; waiting for one of them to say something, to do something. The only sounds between them the rhythm of their rapid breathing and the sounds of the nature's nightlife. But neither of them said anything.

She was a coward and retreated to that unknown place in her heart. She literally could not think, because the flush of her skin and the pounding in her chest should be emotions Tyler sparked in her. Right now it was Klaus who sprung those feelings to life. It couldn't be Klaus; she mind was screaming that it could never be him.

Yet here she was in the middle of Tyler's old home and she was waiting for her heart and mind to figure it out. But she couldn't. It's why she so desperately kissed Tyler before he left; she tried to regain that feeling she thought she was supposed to have for him.

She didn't want to say good-bye to Tyler but it felt like he was slipping away, with Klaus waiting for her on the other side. Footsteps outside turned from the door, slowly their heavy echo disappeared into the dark of the night.

Caroline still found herself standing straight still, no clearer in her emotions with him gone. She knew Klaus cared for her and she used that to her advantage to get her dress earlier because she thought she didn't care. She thought that she was immune to him but now she was confused.

Something in that unknown place in her heart told her she did care.

So she stood there waiting, warring with herself trying to understand. But she couldn't and that's what scared her.


	51. Gasoline

_one word prompt-gasoline: He lit a fire in her_

It was his eyes that first warned Caroline he was going to set her on fire. He held her in a gaze she was unable to turn form, the pounding in her chest a beating drum. She was effectively trapped by them every time the fierceness awakening her soul to an untamed fury.

The smell of his skin whenever they were in the room together would make her skin flush hotly and she would feel her breath catch with the headiness of the spicy scent.

She would go home and try to wash the scent from her trembling body but it only succeeded in fueling her thoughts. Her body would ache from another heat altogether under the ministrations of her efforts.

But it was the sound of his voice that was the gasoline on the fire of her growing desire. When the words rolled off his tongue in that perfect voice, she could feel the tightening of her breasts and an instant wetness between her legs. There was nothing she could do to stop it, nothing ever worked; the fire was burning too bright for even her to control.

Klaus had been nothing she had ever encountered, everything she should hate but everything her body screamed for. So when he found her one night roaming the streets of Venice and his hot breath brushed across her face as he was pressed behind her with his full lips grazing her ear, Caroline could no longer hide the flames.

He ignited a fire within her fueled by endless supplies of gasoline, and oh was she going to burn bright. She was going to burn bright and never stop.


	52. It Happened in the Airport

**I wrote this one ages ago and realized I never posted it here. Anyway, the the request for a Klaroline interpretation of a _North and South_ scene. _North and South_ is a wonderful book written by Elizabeth Gaskell. It's my favorite book in the whole world. Tell what you think. ;)**

"Atlanta is unbelievable; this is why I hate flying. Tell me again why we didn't get a direct flight from New Orleans?" Caroline whined at Stefan.

Stefan rolled his eyes at his companion. Both of them were curled up on the floor, backs to the window panes, munching on airport food with their feet propped up on their luggage.

"Right because I have control of the weather; give it a rest Care. It's already been a long twelve hours as it is." Stefan chided, trying to close his eyes to get some rest.

Caroline crossed her arms and fought the childish urge to stick her tongue out at him. Forced to sleep on uncomfortable chairs, eat nothing but overpriced food, and constantly being delayed for flights made her cranky.

"Fine, start pouting. I'm gonna go walk around. It's seems to be the only thing to do around here," she sniffed at him.

Pulling herself from the floor, she wrapped her long sweater across her body. She may be immortal and that meant certain gifts but it didn't stop her from feeling cramped after sitting for such a long time. Honestly she wanted to have some alone time. The frantic chaos of the Atlanta provided that. There was constant traffic and background noise to give her a sanctuary to get lost in her thoughts.

She wondered around aimlessly for hours, eventually stopping to rest her forehead against a skywalk's window. The steady pouring rain droned on outside, the accompanying wind blowing the rain all sorts of directions.

Stefan had hoped to get out of town before the storm hit but the stupid plane broke down and now they were stuck riding out the nasty storm. It was all her fault really; she was the one to drag Stefan along with her to New Orleans.

Her hot breathed fogged up the window. It all started with a phone call from Elijah. He was worried about Klaus and his last hope was her so he offered her a brilliant plan. Caroline scoffed at the idea initially because she still didn't know what to do with Klaus. He was infuriating and did horrible things but he was everything she wanted at the same time. But he had made it very clear when he left that though he loved her but that he was done waiting for her.

That had been seven months ago. Caroline shook her head, pulling back from the window. It had actually been seven months and twenty-two days since he left but she wasn't keeping track. No, she wasn't the one who cried herself to sleep at night because the only person she could talk to was gone. Yeah right, she was a right proper mess since he left.

Stefan was the only one who knew that she was blubbering over Klaus behind closed doors. Everyone else thought she was pinning over Tyler. She did for awhile, but the first and last phone from him changed all that.

He found a pack up north in Canada, and met a girl he liked. That had been one month after he had left. It infuriated Caroline because he moved on, but he only did what she asked of him. Still it galled her that it took only one month for him to find someone new.

Caroline felt no regrets then about letting her emotions for Klaus finally break free. They had stayed hidden for far too long in the bottom of her heart. But Klaus had already left at that point.

Hence the trip to New Orleans, and well Elijah's concerns prodded her a bit faster. But she was surprised to arrive and discover Klaus was gone. Neither Elijah nor Rebekah knew where he slipped off too. So that left her in her current predicament-stranded in the airport waiting to go back to Mystic Falls.

She groaned, directing herself back towards the section of the airport where Stefan was dutifully waiting with the luggage. Closing her eyes she could almost recall Klaus' scent from his kiss. One kiss he left her with as he said good-bye on her front doorstep. He smelt of the forest, spices, and his own unique masculine musk. Whenever he was around, despite his horrific actions the smell enchanted her.

Caroline smiled to herself; she could almost picture him standing in front of her, giving her that devil grin of his and that intoxicating scent enveloping her. Walking further down the terminal the memory of his smell persisted, almost as if he was standing somewhere in the room. The more she walked the stronger it became and the more erratic her heart beat.

Closing her eyes for the briefest moments, she willed the smell to be real and not just a figment of her imagination. Opening her eyes she was disappointed to not see him standing in front of her. She huffed; if only she were a witch maybe there was a spell she could have cast to fix her problem. Turning her head towards one of the gates she suddenly spotted him emerging from a crowd of people.

Caroline locked unto him and he glanced up almost as if he knew someone was watching him. Time stopped around her, the busy chaos around her dulling into a low hum her entire person focused on the ages old hybrid approaching her with a smile she didn't think possible.

"Caroline, what a delightful surprise. Where are you going?" he asked her.

He was real and not some realistic illusion, a terrifying and handsome all in the same person. She did her best to not appear too eager. After all she was annoyed she flew all the way to New Orleans and he wasn't even there.

"Stefan and I got caught up in the storm. We are supposed to be going back to Mystic Falls," she said nonchalantly.

Klaus tilted his head, "Back? Where have you come from?"

Caroline felt heat creep up her neck and color her cheeks. Now that she was standing here, his gaze trapping her in front of him she felt silly and nervous. She didn't want to show it though, determined to show she wouldn't fall for that perfect grin and dimpled cheeks. It was some game between them, trying their best to outwit the other all the while falling for each other.

"N-New Orleans," she choked out.

The fire in his eyes roared to life, but it wasn't an angry fire. It was the fire that made Caroline remember the way he looked at her before he kissed her good-bye. It was the kind of fire that ignited heat in her center.

Klaus inched forward break the invisible barrier of her personal space. With a sly smile he quirked an eye brow, "Now what were you doing there?"

"Elijah called me and asked me to come." Caroline blurted out before she could stop her mouth.

Klaus' face fell. The dimpled grin replaced with the usual stoic mask. "What care would my brother have of you?"

Caroline cringed, "It was a business arrangement. That is he had an a plan for me, and he paid for everything and it was so nice to escape the Mystic Falls, a-and-"

She stopped, "I'm rambling aren't I?"

Klaus eyes widened as she spoke, studying her intently. The mask of indifference shifted from anger to confusion to deep intensity. She felt like he was reaching into her soul and learning her darkest secrets.

"Ugh, I'm seriously not saying this right," she pushed back a stray piece of hair with a shaking hand and wrapped the sweater across her chest once more, "Okay let me try this again."

Caroline didn't expect to be reacting this way to him. Her entire body was a jumble of nerves. Klaus kept staring at her with such a forlorn expression Caroline was certain if she stopped talking she would jump him right there in the middle of the airport.

He nodded his head towards a small alcove that was out of the way of busy travelers. Caroline hastily headed towards it, if only to break from his gaze. She was desperately trying to collect her thoughts, figure out what to say to him. Her original intent had been to yell at him, anger seemed to be the only way to reach him. But now here she was and all she could do was stumble and prattle on like a love struck little girl.

Leaning her shoulder against the wall, Klaus copied her gesture, his eyes fixated on her waiting for her to speak. Caroline's heart fluttered and she blinked rapidly. "Elijah called me and informed me that the internship program I was looking for was at LSU."

Klaus leaned a little closer at the mention of her possibly coming to Louisiana. Caroline's breath caught in her throat, seeing Klaus' lips part just a fraction. She had to clear her throat a couple times before continuing, "Elijah said that talk of an underground movement was about and he wished to have more vampires nearby that he could trust and-"

The proximity of their bodies to one another radiated heat, suffocating what little breath she had left. For when she did breathe in, Klaus' scent invaded her body and its dizzying spell too much. She faltered in her explanation instead watching open mouthed as Klaus reached out and grabbed her hand in his. She looked down, her hand was so small in his he completely captured it and wrapped her in warmth.

Klaus began rubbing his thumb over her knuckles electrifying her cool skin. A series of stuttered breaths trembled from her lips. She clenched his hand stopping the small ministration.

"Really it w-was because he knows that y-you and I…"

Caroline could no longer continue. Her body was so tight with anticipation she was certain if Klaus was not holding her hand it would be shaking. Her eyes flickered down to his lips and back to his eyes.

"Caroline," he breathed out.

Klaus reached up with his other hand ghosting just over her neck and holding it there, almost cupping the side of her face, leaning down ever so slightly towards her lips. Caroline didn't understand why he was being patient, why he was waiting her it wasn't like him. She couldn't take it any longer.

She quickly closed the remaining distance, gliding her soft lips over his finally finding the peace she had been searching for. Klaus' hand cupped her face, pulling her into him as his lips pried at hers to deepen the connection between them. Caroline let herself melt into his chest, pushing off the wall and blissfully clenching her eyes shut.

Pulling her hand out of his, both her hands found home in the lapels of his jacket, twisting them into the weathered leather. Klaus in turn placed his other hand on her hip and snaking it around to the small of her back to press her against him with all the strength he would allow.

They moved against one other soft at first but then in frantic fervor, lips parting to let way for their tongues to taste each other, each second burned in their memories. It was heady and powerful all at the same time, everything Caroline needed and more.

Klaus broke from her lips when he began feel her body trembling and rested his forehand against hers. They were both panting heavily from the passionate display. A loud voice over the PA system broke the moment. "Boarding call for flight 193 out of Gate B28 service to Mystic Falls."

Caroline snapped out of her daze pulling herself just back far enough from his face to look clearly into his eyes. Klaus held his usual mischief but there was something more sincere and real underneath. Caroline started to speak but no words came out, her flight was finally ready which meant the rain storm had slowed enough that it was safe to fly again.

"K-Klaus I…" she managed, at a loss as what to say and she was never at loss for words.

She backed up and his face fell. Before Klaus could utter a word Caroline dashed off and ran towards her gate. But she didn't get very far. Standing in the middle of the corridor was Stefan, holding out her bags and broad grin across his face.

"Just remember to call okay? Take care of him; he's going to need it."

Caroline returned the smile, there was a reason Stefan was her best friend. Grabbing the small suitcase, she wrapped Stefan up in a quick hug and turned round the way she came. She dashed back through crowds of passengers to the spot she left Klaus.

He wasn't there. Her heart sank. She should have said something before running off. Between the high of the kiss and guilt at leaving Stefan alone for so long she just ran.

"Caroline?"

She whipped around to see Klaus standing just a few feet down the path, a group of people had been blocking him from her sight.

Klaus' face perked up and his eyes though guarded, twinkled slightly, "You come any closer and I won't let you go. I'm rather possessive."

Caroline rolled her eyes but stepped forward until her shoes bumped against his, the space between their bodies disappearing and heat filling both of them.

"Tell me something I don't know. You got a place around here? I've been stuck in this airport for far too long and I'm so done being here," she brightly answered.

Klaus smirked, his normal arrogant smile returning. Reaching out his arm, Caroline linked her arm around the crook of his elbow.

As they walked away Klaus turned slightly to her, "Now what is this internship you talked about?"


	53. Causality of War

_Well, this one came out of nowhere but I had to write it. I usually don't write these, but the imagery was so strong in my head that I couldn't shake it. The reader prompt was mushroom and it supposed to be a just a drabble but it evolved into a serious one-shot. Anyway..._

_Klaus has an encounter with Caroline in the woods._

Klaus walked through the quiet still of the pines trees, hoping the quite whistling of the wood would whisper something in his ears to give him the answers he was looking for. In his youth, a walk in the woods surrounding his human home had given him comfort when he needed it. No such answers came with the wind and in turn, no such comfort.

He paused in his wandering, letting his gaze fall to forest floor having nowhere else to look. A cropping of little white mushrooms rest atop a rotting log and his astute senses picked up the scent of decay and the passage of time from the little plants.

How like the he and the small plants were witnessing the passage of time, beings that lived off the death and destruction but someone managed to create beauty out of death. Never had he felt so old and worn, the hollow life he led stripped away and his soul bare to the surrounding nature.

Another softer smell mixed with the scent of decay. His eyes lifted from the ground and before him in all her glory stood Caroline with the brightest smile on her face. Klaus couldn't help but feel his mood lighten instantly at the sight. For some reason that smile had the power to make him feel alive and create strong tightening in his chest; he had sacrificed much to witness that smile.

"I didn't think you would come find me," he told her evenly.

Caroline's smile lost of its dimness, saddened by his statement. She took a step towards him, leaves crunching under her feet.

"Neither did I," she answered him.

Klaus arched a brow but did not move his body, if anything he became impossibly stiff.

"Then why come at all?"

It was harsh and bitter but it was the truth. He meant to speak with no emotion but for her, he was powerless to keep a façade for long.

Her sad smile grew more mournful. "I've gained a great deal of perspective from my new position."

"Is that so?"

She stepped forward again, hesitating at his no response before she huffed and closed the distance between them completely. Her entire presence filled the space around him and Klaus forced himself to look up having cast his eyes downwards again not wanting to look at her. It seemed even now that her floral and vibrant scent mocked him with its allure.

"I met your family. It was weird really but enlightening. Actually I met a lot of people and I got to see what everyone was up to here in Mystic Falls. Hence the perspective, it's kind of like watching a movie of life," she explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

Klaus grimaced, not certain how he felt about her being able to see everything but oddly comforted as well.

"Kol's interesting, once you get past the complete and total lack of tact."

He actually snorted at that. "My younger brother was never known for his discretion."

She laughed so real and genuine that he hated that last time he had heard it was before Christmas so long ago, back when he had a chance. Another stone dropped into the well of his soul of all the things that he regretted when it came to her.

Caroline must have sensed his remorse and gently grabbed his wrist. Klaus stared down; surprised that he could feel warmth of her fingers on his skin. He involuntary gasped and forcefully stepped back, staring wide eyed at her.

She shook her head, answering the unasked question in his eyes. Klaus growled, punching the nearest tree with unparalleled strength, the tree splitting and falling over with a deafening thud and disturbing leaves everywhere. Caroline rolled her eyes and crossed her arms with a defiant scowl.

"That was completely unnecessary, what did that tree ever do to you?" she huffed, obviously annoyed.

He only answered her with a furious glare but saw the teasing gleam in her eyes.

"If you are just going to be pouty I'll leave."

Klaus watched her turn around, refusing to be manipulated by her but she had only gone a few steps when he called out her name. He couldn't help himself.

She spun around instantly with what he swore was relief in her big blue eyes. She sat down on the tree that he had just felled and patiently waited for him to join her. Klaus glowered with a deep scowl for a minute before joining her.

They sat there in silence, unable to speak for some time. He was still trying to wrap his head around her being there. All the furious screams and tantrums had already been thrown; all the threats of hunting down the Salvatores and the itching desire to tear Tyler's head off had already darkened every corner of his mind for days. Now that she was here he was both parts drained of emotion and elated.

"There was nothing you could have done," she said after some time.

Klaus refused to answer her obvious bait.

Caroline turned towards him and he continued to look outwards, his eyes finding the little bunch of mushrooms again to focus on. He could feel her eyes boring into his head and finally gave in to his desire to look upon her face.

She met him with a determined expression. "I would have done it again a heartbeat."

"They don't deserve you."

"They're my friends Klaus, that's what friends do. We sacrifice for each other," she countered.

"I thought we were friends too."

She stared at him with a sweet smile, something he never expected to see thrown his way.

"We were never friends."

He did not expect those words to sting as much as they did. The inner demons were laughing mercilessly at her proclamation taunting him that he had always known that was the truth. She never gave him a real chance and now that she was in no danger of him hurting her she could speak the whole truth.

Klaus gripped the lumber beneath his hands, threatening to rip it to shreds and was so lost in his world of despair he almost failed to hear the next words she uttered.

"We were always more," she breathed faintly.

It seemed like a private confession that one would say to a priest when no one else was round, a dark secret she did not wish to be known. Klaus nonetheless snapped immediately from his dark cloud and whipped his head to look at her.

She was intently studying her hands, carefully ignoring his eyes. "We tried to say we were friends, but we never really were as much as we tried. There was always the simmering tension never knowing if I wanted to stake you or kiss you. Even now, I still haven't made up my mind."

Klaus blinked owlishly, choosing to assume a blank look. "It's seems death has made you open about yourself at last."

He could practically hear the eye roll she was giving and watched her card her shakings hands through her hair.

"Oh, shut up," she weakly snapped.

The entire atmosphere lightened and suddenly Klaus found they slipped into their easy banter. It was so natural he lost all knowledge of how long they actually sat there.

"Uh-oh," she muttered at one point halting Klaus' story of the how he turned Marcel.

Klaus stopped and he saw she was looking downwards and he noticed her fair hands were slipping in and out of view. Tearfully, Caroline locked her eyes with his.

"Bonnie must be reconstructing the veil," he blankly stated.

Caroline nodded.

"I don't want to go," she whimpered after a moment.

Klaus grabbed her hand but found his hand fell straight through her, grasping at nothing. They both wore matching looks of horror.

"Caroline, I-"

"I know," she cut him off.

Caroline felt her lip tremble. "Kill Silas for me, will you?"

"I will relish the chance to pry his heart from his chest," he promised.

She laughed again but Klaus didn't feel relieved at the sound this time.

Klaus opened his mouth to speak but found himself unable to do so. Instead he could only watch as the wind rustling through the trees carried away the last sight of Caroline from him.

He stared at the spot she had occupied for ages after, finding himself unable to move. Each passing hour the hollowness returned to his being. Instead of the unadulterated rage that had possessed him when first learned she was gone. The dull numbness that filled him as he stared at Kol's body for hours after his death instead possessed him.

She had lain down her life for them all, in a fruitless attempt to end Silas. She added herself to the list of causalities of war the raged against the first immortal; slain as the man used Klaus' face to rob her of life.

Klaus knew he would never be the same again when he learned the news of her death. His broken and twisted soul was going to be the next casualty of the war. For the last of his humanity died with her on the wind.


	54. He Brought Her Back (4x21 reaction)

**Well, I'm glad you guys survived that last one-shot. I'm not terribly fond of killing characters but writing tragedy and extreme angst is extremely easy for me so every now and again I do. _So this one is all fluff_. The next one won't be, in fact the next one after this is downright scary. Anyway...**

**4x20 reaction one-shot and reader requests. Caroline keeps flinching away from everyone after her encounter with Silas and all she wants now peace. **

She told herself that it didn't affect her. She told herself that the dreams she had at night of faces of her friends stabbing her weren't real. She told herself that she could get it over. There was so much to do, and the incident needed to be pushed far from her mind. Elena found her emotions and was hell bent on killing Katherine, Bonnie was knee deep in the Silas thing, and Matt was in need of a study buddy.

Caroline knew all of this but it still didn't stop her from involuntarily flinching whenever someone touched her. She didn't think anyone noticed because she didn't address it and was business as usual. She was graduating; there wasn't time for personal distress.

Matt was the only one who caught on and that was only because she had told him what happened that night. When he tried to talk about it to Caroline, she just brushed past it with a bright smile and showed him the next flash card for a calculus equation. He didn't try to bring it up again.

Her mom noticed the slight shake in her hands one evening and with a sad sigh put down the reports she brought home from the police station and enclosed her hand around Caroline's. They didn't say a word but just stood there for a moment holding each other in silence seeking comfort after the trauma they had endured.

But it wasn't her mother's face that plagued her at night; the face that would repeatedly stab her was his face. The face she told no one about in fear of having to explain to everyone why Silas chose him of all people.

He had been so close to her she could see the flecks of blue and green in his eyes that combined to create the storm of color she saw anytime they tried to stare each other down. He had placed his hands all over her body, the heat and pressure tightening the coil in her core to an unbearable crescendo. His breathe had pressed hotly in her ear and it made her body twitch uncontrollably, arching to him in subconscious need.

He had done all of that and it wasn't even really him.

Caroline groaned in frustration, dropping her head to cradle it in her hands. Silas had made Klaus to think that he was dying and she had been made to distrust every face that she ran into. She thought she'd rather deal with the sensation of dying to stop the paranoia that flashed across her mind any time she talked to someone.

Her whole body was stiff and rigid from lack of sleep and all she wanted now was to find peace from the whispers of terror that haunted her every step. She bent her head downwards, resting it on the outstretched Italian books for Matt and the stack of study guides she had for her biology final. Sleep could no longer be denied, she was just too tired.

She was blissfully drifting into a black void when a pressure on her shoulder startled her. Caroline sprung to life, grabbing the hand that touched her spinning round only to be stopped with another hand, grabbing her wrist. The force snapped Caroline out of her blood fueled reaction, willing her fangs to snap back into her gums at the face she met holding her hand.

It was Klaus.

His face was equally predatory but the harshness ebbed once Caroline whimpered at the pressure cutting on the blood flow to her hand. His hand and fangs retreated instantly, burned by her escaped pained. Caroline grabbed her wrist and tried to rub life back into it.

"That wasn't exactly the welcome I was anticipating. For what do I owe your malice?" he asked harshly.

Caroline's chest exhaled in heavy relief, plopping down into the chair and not answering Klaus. Only he would react that way, she knew it was really him. The faint metallic smell of blood and his unique scent were there that hadn't been in the woods. She felt her hands tremble slightly, taking deep breaths to slow her erratic heartbeat.

Klaus moved round to her front, hovering by the table watching her most intently. Caroline glanced up from her hands and saw Klaus reach out to place a hand on her forearm. She flinched, she couldn't help it. His eyes narrowed to slits, glinting darkly.

"What happened?" he asked with punctuated force.

He did not retreat his hand, but held it over the skin of her forearm, his darker skin already showing the sun kissed effects of New Orleans. Caroline finally upturned her eyes back to his, concern vividly present on his face.

A surge of confidence course through her and Caroline straightened in her seat.

"Silas thought he could get to me," was her blasé reply.

Klaus' eyebrows shot into his hairline and the cold stone monster emerged with a low growl. For all her nonchalance they both knew she was lying-her hands were still shaking.

"I would assume that is the reason for the rough greeting?" he bit out.

She nodded reluctantly.

She didn't have to say what form Silas took, Klaus could already tell. An unexpected wave of relief washed over her. He knew the pain she was enduring. Caroline watched him again lay a hand on her forearm and this time she didn't back away from his fingers.

Instead of her heart racing in fear or flashes of being staked a quiet calm enveloped round her, filling her body with the peace she sought since her attack. It took everything in her not to slump forward and betray how the simple pressure of his fingers on her arm steadied her to a safe position.

Klaus looked at her with a frown but she answered it with a small smile. His frown disappeared and echoed the quirk of her lips.

"I need to study, I have a biology final tomorrow," she informed him pointedly after a moment.

She had gotten lost in just staring at him and only spoke when she felt herself in danger of suddenly spilling all of her feelings again as she had to Silas. It was time to push him away again. She had exposed enough of herself for one day.

He smirked and stood up to leave. Caroline watched him walk away from her, the peace he brought going with him. She wanted him back, instantly. She bit her tongue but found words slipping out of her mouth nonetheless.

"Klaus wait!" she called out.

He turned around, expectantly waiting for her to talk. She saw his eyes dance with mirth.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, disbelieving of what she was about to do. Opening them with a bright smile on her face she asked, "I have a history final tomorrow too. Do you think you could go over my notes real quick? Just to check the dates," she tried to stem the flush she could feel creeping on her cheeks.

Klaus cocked a brow, smirking all the while. Caroline ignored it, stammering on, "I m-mean after all you are so good with history."

He snorted, shaking his head before returning to the small table Caroline had set up shop on. Caroline scrambled to join him, pulling out her notes for him. The sense of peace returned as she joined him, not willing to admit that his simple touch had brought her back. She was no longer worried or afraid, she could combat Silas now.


	55. Hate

_Totally just realized that I never posted the reaction one-shot for 4x20 here on FF. Sorry for the lateness of it but here it is._

_Anon request/reaction drabble for 4x20: Caroline finds out about Hayley's pregnancy. _

Caroline hated the smug grin on Katherine's face and knew the minute she saw it, something awful had happened. Combine that with Stefan and Damon's blank stares and the sickening anticipation about made her lose it.

Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she asked what the hell was going on. No one answered her. Her hands started tremble when an overwhelming fear overtook her whole being.

"What is going on? Someone tell me right now! Is it Elena? Is it Tyler?" she rushed out, waiting for someone to help her.

Katherine's reply was not she was expecting. The words Klaus, father, baby, and Hayley all in the same sentence were not something she ever expected to hear. Or for that matter wanted to hear. She was so stunned that she stood there in absolute silence, stuck in the middle of the Salvatore living room completely unaware of her emotions, the absurdity of the situation silencing any thought.

The three of them watched Caroline. Stefan noticed she stopped breathing and that her eye started to twitch. In panic he turned to Damon, his brother giving him a knowing look and just as they stood up Caroline blurred from the house. She didn't bother to listen to their shouts to come back.

Her whole body was in shutdown, the shock letting in a barrage of emotions she didn't expect. She expected disgust and that was there but so were a lot of other things. She fled to the safety of the woods, looking for a quiet desolate place to be. She needed to be alone for a minute.

Caroline started to sob after a few minutes, her body crippled under the weight of emotions and she braced herself against a tree. She ignored the bark that chipped off and clung to her hair, sliding down the pine tree. Never in her whole life had she hated one person before and surprisingly it wasn't Klaus.

She hated Hayley and she was so angry that her body couldn't even process it.

Hayley pregnant, of all things her supernatural life threw at her.

Bile churned in her stomach and before Caroline could think anything else, she turned her head to the side and emptied everything she had onto the forest floor. But her stomach wasn't done, her body kept heaving as if trying to force the knowledge of the news out of her system.

Finally Caroline's stomach stopped, exhausted from its effort, her body aching unbearably. She wiped the remnants of bile on the back of her hand with a disgusted groan.

She hated Hayley.

Hayley, who turned her back on all of them, who helped in the killing of the hybrids. Hayley the girl who got off scotch free will Tyler had his mom killed and was now made to run for the rest of his life. Hayley who apparently somehow charmed her way into Klaus' bed, and who now had the one thing Caroline could never have-_a baby_.

She seriously never loathed a person's existence more before.

Her stomach started to heave again and Caroline cried as she felt her body clench in pain and attempt to empty itself of bile that wasn't there.

She didn't understand why Hayley who had walked into their lives and wrecked all kinds of havoc was able to walk away with the one thing Caroline wanted the chance to have. It was mother's nature cruel joke. Caroline pulled at her hair and groaned, banging the back of her head against the tree.

She hated Klaus too, but she didn't know why. There was just this surge of red fury aimed in his direction and she didn't bother to understand it because she hurt too much. She swore the next time she saw him she was going to punch him straight in the face and walk away with a smile on her face.

Caroline pulled herself up off the ground, girding her anger about her like a shield. She buried her other emotions behind the shield and wiped the dirt and bark from her. She was Caroline Forbes; she could handle this, because she could handle anything.

With a shake of her head and quick pull at her shirt to straighten herself out, she headed back to the Salvatore home. She had to focus on Elena that was her priority right now. Until she got her friend back, nothing else mattered.

When she walked back into the Salvatore mansion Stefan and Damon both gave her concerned looks and Katherine just smirked at her from her corner of the room. Caroline steadily ignored them, plastering on a fake grin.

"So what are we going to do about Elena?" she asked in a too bright of a voice.

Stefan opened his mouth to speak, his hand held out to Caroline but Damon cut him off, answering Caroline with their plan.

Caroline arched her brow at what they proposed to do, letting herself get caught up in the original purpose she was there. She had too, because if she let herself think about Katherine's news she would realize that the reason she was truly mad at Klaus was because he picked Hayley and not her.


	56. The Eleventh Hour

**For the guest reviewer asking if I deleted my tumblr account, I haven't. I just changed my URL. I am now youaretrulybrilliant. Sorry for the confusion. **

**Alright this one-shot is a bit more intense but I tried to write it so the graphics were still to fit for the T rating. The original version was much more graphic and I decided to tone it down. Thanks for your dedicated reading and all the reviews!**

**Reader request: A call from Caroline has Klaus running the fastest he ever has in his life. **

It was midday; the streets of New Orleans almost empty. The humidity was too much even for the lifers. They had all taken refuge in the bars or sat on age worn chairs under the balconies of row homes, trying to find relief in the shade.

Klaus and Elijah were watching from their position of their new home, both tense. Klaus hadn't said much to Elijah after their first day there, growing more and more frustrated with his new responsibilities. The faint ringing of his mobile could be heard from the depths of the house. Elijah turned back to the sound before glancing at Klaus, with a cocked eyebrow.

He decided just to spite his elder brother to ignore it.

Elijah's lips quirked slightly at the somber glare Klaus held in place before turning back to the streets below with a bored sigh. The phone kept ringing. It would stop and start again, the sound ticking incessantly to Klaus' extreme annoyance.

Elijah finally squared his shoulders and disappeared into the depths of the house, gently picking up the phone. The sudden screaming filling the air had Klaus by Elijah's side and ripping the phone out his hand before Elijah could press it to his ear.

Klaus knew that sound anywhere. "Caroline, what's wrong?"

Both he and Elijah could clearly hear the sounds of boots furiously pounding on a hard surface, labored breathing and Caroline whimpering into the phone. Klaus did his best to keep his face neutral to betray nothing to his brother who knew nothing of Caroline's significance, but every line of his face was petrified in a tense mask.

"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? You call when you need help and I come but the minute-"

There was a deafening sound of bullets blazing in the background and it punctured his ears as if they were bouncing around walls and stopped Caroline's rant midsentence. He no longer cared how Elijah was going to use this on him later, something was wrong. He slammed his fist into the table, splintering the antique with one blow.

Whimpers continued to pour into his ear, each new one tightening a pit within him that gnawed at his entire being. The last time he had felt so apprehensive was gazing into Mikael's eyes at homecoming. He gripped the phone tighter when he heard the crash of plastic and a low stream of curses from Caroline.

"I'm trapped and I don't know where the others are. No know is answering their phones. I have Rebekah, she's been staked but hopefully she'll revive soon. Oh God, there is so much blood. I'm so hungry. I can't do this."

Caroline was frantically rambling, her tongue non-stop as Klaus tried to understand what was going on. Elijah perked up at the mention of Rebekah's name his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. Klaus took one glance at his brother to see the lines of his jaws clench into to place.

"K-Klaus…" she uttered into the line.

It was desperate and small, nothing of the girl he knew.

He was out the door in an instant, the fear quivering through line spurning him onward without second thought. _New Orleans be damned._ Elijah was hot on his tail, matching his brother's steps with supernatural speed and grace that could only be found in beings as ancient as they.

He would never make it in a car. He would be faster if he transformed but the transformation alone would take up to fifteen minutes give or take. Fifteen minutes it was clear Caroline didn't have. So he would have to run the fastest he ever had in his life. New Orleans to Mystic Falls on foot would still take solid half hour; he would never make it in.

"You're a vampire Caroline, the most feared creature in existence. Bullets will not kill you," he said more forcefully than he meant too.

She really should be able to do this. Caroline would never make it if she couldn't. It paralyzed his nerves at the thought. Why she wasn't fighting back?-that wasn't the Caroline he knew. Rebekah just needed to wake up and take care of the problem herself.

"Don't you think I know that?" she laughed bitterly into the phone, "I already have I think five or six in my stomach as it is."

Klaus growled in response.

There was sound of slamming doors and something being dragged across the ground. He counted every breath being released from her lips and could now hear the measure of pain that laced each intake of air. The red that been steadily fringing the corner of his eyes raged and all Klaus could process was the sound of her voice and the desire to tear apart the being who caused that pain.

A squeak of surprise and the loud clattering of what Klaus assumed was the phone gave him pause as he had to pull the phone away from his ear as he dodged trees he zoomed past.

"Caroline!" he called into the phone.

There was the sound of flesh dropping to the ground and her scrambling to pick up the phone again.

"I can't hold the phone well. It's covered in too much blood….he cut off my finger. Klaus he has my daylight ring. I'm trapped. Rebekah said it's one of the five."

This time Klaus did nothing to hold back his growing anger. He uttered loud curses, any and all he could think of in all tongues. She had no chance with one of the five.

After a minute of counting her breathing there was the sound of Caroline putting the phone down, her voice drifting away from him. The distinct noise of something be pulled from flesh was heard, the squishing of muscle and fat being pushed together as an audible pop and sigh of relief was echoed across the line.

Caroline must have pulled the stake from Rebekah out. A gasp of fear trembled and Klaus strained his ears to hear in the background the echo of footsteps outside the room Caroline was currently hiding in.

He pushed himself forward, ignoring the burn of his body protesting at the speed it was being forced to stretch to. Elijah for his part was still matching his speed step for step. Klaus almost lurched to halt when he stopped hearing the sound of Caroline breathing.

The echo of footsteps that were hunting Caroline had grown steadily louder; he no longer had to strain to hear them. His heart beat wildly in his chest, anticipation building. Klaus duly noted the Welcome to North Carolina sign out of the corner of his eye as he blurred by. He might actually make it; he was going faster than he had ever run in his entire life.

A low groan was emitted from the phone, one Klaus recognized instantly as Rebekah's. The footsteps of the hunter paused and he could imagine the fear in Caroline's eyes as the dread in his own stomach plummeted.

They had been found.

The hiding spot was compromised by his little sister, choosing that moment to return back to life.

It took only a split second before the barrage of gunfire burst over the phone line. Caroline's screams followed immediately after.

He wasn't going to make it.

There was the sound of Rebekah growling loudly and then he couldn't tell was happening. The sounds of metal crashing, bodies being slammed, and gunfire were flying too fast even for him. All he did recognize was the abruptness of Caroline's voice stopping mid-scream.

Her broken whimper sounded before a loud sharp laugh was heard hacking away as Rebekah roared.

Klaus tore on faster; this was not to be her end.

"We're at the high school, it's the high school. Nik, follow the blood."

It was Rebekah bellowing into the phone, she was struggling with someone the scuffling getting closer to the phone. A small measure of relief pounded to know Rebekah was awake but even she had spoken with her voice laced with fear. Rebekah afraid wasn't a good sign.

A loud slap from flesh meeting flesh stung Klaus' ears and the broken whimper of Caroline was heard again. She was alive-for now.

The familiar streets and smells of Mystic Falls fell into place before Klaus, the picture of the town increasing his fears not quelling them. The outline of the high school came into view a second after that.

For the first time since his death, Klaus found himself uttering the words of a long forgotten prayer to his childhood gods. He hated the idea of a being more powerful than him but in that moment he wished for it. He prayed that he would be granted the eleventh hour and not the twelfth hour that for once nature would give him reprieve. Nothing would stop the rain of blood that would come if he found her ashen and pale instead of vibrant and breathing.

He didn't need the phone anymore to tell him the sounds of terror that centered deep in the walls of the building he could hear them just fine now.

He and Elijah didn't slow at all, the pouring of humans still running from the building, panicked cries of children and parents combining. It was clear that there had been casualties somewhere within and it was utter chaos. Several trails of blood marred the white floors, Klaus' fangs out and ready. The level of blood was intoxicating and almost blinding and he was over a thousand years old.

Honing in on Caroline's scent took a minute in the sea of fresh blood but he found it and was there at the room in the next instant.

Elijah knocked the hunter into unconsciousness as Klaus surveyed the room to find Rebekah cradling Caroline in her arms on the ground, both of them stained crimson.

It could not be the twelfth hour.

It needed to be the eleventh hour.

Klaus silently prayed again to any God that he had ever run across in his life in the chance one of them was real.

Not her-not Caroline.

He knelt down next to Rebekah, his face stony and cold prepared for what he knew was the truth. He could smell it the minute he stepped foot into the room. Rebekah's eyes were littered with tears.

Finally unable to bear it he cast his eyes on the pale face in his sister's arms.

A sharp bark escaped his lips.

It appeared to be the eleventh hour after all.


End file.
